Key should wander Parklands, feeling mud oozing between his toes. Smell shit in quakemired streets. Smell roses in shitty streets too. Key should see citizens once more digging mud away from homes & tell them that's psychological!
Post June 13 Quake, I'd trekked Parklands a bit, it was obvious many houses were built on beach sand. Despite clean up, liquefaction remnants at Parklands post June 13 Quake were brown & sandy, unlike the CBD's grey liquefaction silt. Again, I wanted to see what had happened to Parklands, but soon post 23.12.11 Xmas Quake Swarm, before liquefaction damages were sanitized by CERA.
Boxing Day, 26.12.11. Early morn I drove east along Queen Elizabeth 11 Dr. Further on, 10km from my Burnside home, along Travis Dr by Travis Wetland, I descended into swampland, liquefaction land to the coast. Orange, plastic, road cone cordons sprouted.
Parklands was close to the coast. I drove along once more liquefactioned Bower Ave past weedy EQC porta-cabin offices at QE11 Park entrance. Snapped quake sinkholes, roadside liquefaction flooding, quakemire heaps, cracked mud on pavements.
Post June 13 Quake, when I'd seen QE11 Park, the park & surrounding roads were a mass of sinkholes & quakemire.
Bower Ave / Flemington Ave: Snapped 23.12.11 Xmas Quake Swarm, liquefaction damage, quakemire heaped on roadsides, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned.
26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm, nr Flemington Ave cnr
26.12.11. Flemington Ave liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Bower Ave: Due to 23.12.11 Xmas Quake, liquefaction damage, traffic was detoured via Pinewood Ave & Beach Rd back to Bower Ave.
26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave detour by Pinewood Ave, due to 23.12.11 quake swarm, liquefaction damage
Bower Ave: Many quake cracks & sinkholes I saw in Parklands that morn were 1-2m deep, grave size, or bigger. Many liquefaction heaps were higher than cars.
26.12.11. Bower Ave flooding, liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave sinkhole, liquefaction damage, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Dec 23 Xmas Quake liquefaction looked as bad as June 13 Quake liquefaction I'd seen. Parked, Bower Ave / Queenspark Dr, by Waimari Beach Golf Club, liquefactioned gate & muddy golf course. Relatives who lived on Queenspark Dr told us the Dec 23 Xmas Quake Swarm shook their house, throwning items around. (2020. With his girlfriend, Jake would move to a flat at Cottonwood St off Queenspark Dr, Parklands Reserve view, a more stable abode than where he'd lived in damaged flats).
26.12.11. Liquefactioned carpark entrance, Waimairi Beach Golf Club, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Bower Ave liquefaction damage, nr Queenspark Dr cnr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Figure 8 trekked liquefactioned Parklands roads: Bower Ave towards Bottle Lake Forest Park. Snapped mud heaps, sinkholes, cracked road & pavements, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned. Uncleared quakemire, knee high in places. Farm Ln: Muddy. Rue De La Mare: Muddy.
26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Farm Ln, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave, nr Rue De La Mare, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Bower Ave: Snapped early morning joggers, walkers, some early mud shovellers & barrow bods. No sign of vaunted Student Volunteer Army diggers, nor Farmy Army volunteer diggers, as in other quakes. Two sucker trucks rumbled by slurping shekels. Again. Water tanker drove past, laying liquefaction dust. Crofts Ln: Brown mud.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Crofts Ln, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Park Estate, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Bower Ave: Forest Park Estate housing, deeply liquefactioned. One section, only half the road was mud cleared, the other side still lumpy, quakemired. Pavements, covered in drying mud, driveways muddy, some cleared, some still being cleared. Roads off Bower Ave, deeply liquefactioned.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Park Estate, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
End of Bower Ave, I chatted to a tall, grizzled man, who'd dug mud away from his garden, driveway & verge on Xmas Day, his garden immaculate. Quakemire all around, knee-high mud on the road. He inquired where I lived, why I was snapping pics?
I said, "My wife's Scottish cousin, in Nairn, told us there was no UK news about our Dec 23 Xmas Quake Swarm. No deaths, no international news. I'm snapping blog pics to show her what's happening. Despite mud, gardens are beautiful, filled with flowers."
He pointed to his neighbour's rose garden. In the road, muddy sinkhole, water-filled, scummy. "Good luck to you," I said, trekking on.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Park Estate, nr Broadhaven Reserve & Bottle Lake Forest Park, Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Broadhaven Ave, near Broadhaven Reserve: Quakemire partly cleared. Sinkholes. Mud diggers. Roads off Broadhaven Ave, deeply liquefactioned. Quakemire lessened the further I trekked W from the coast.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Broadhaven Ave, nr Broadhaven Reserve, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave, seen from Bower Ave junction, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, black, plastic, sewage tank, Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Sinkhole, liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave, looking towards Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave by Broadhaven Reserve, 23.12.11 quake swarm
A lost contractor driving a SUV asked for directions to QE11 Park. I hopped into his SUV & directed him at liquefactioned Broadhaven Ave / Inwoods Rd.
26.12.11. 30 km/h speed limit. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave, nr Inwoods Rd junction, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Inwoods Rd: Roughly parallel to Bower Ave, many liquefactioned roads in between. Not so muddy, like Arosa Pl & Bottle Lake Dr, which I'd muddily trudged post June 13 Quake.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave / Inwoods Rd, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Inwoods Rd / Arosa Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Serial quake shaken, but not liquefactioned, Queenspark Dr housing, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Queenspark Dr to Bower Ave again: Little quakemire up to the shopping centre. Before the shopping centre, in Parklands Reserve carpark, a leaky water tanker parked, with a pipe for 6 taps. Sign:
WATER MUST BE
BOILED BEFORE
USE
26.12.11. Post quake water tanker, Parklands Reserve, Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Supermarket. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Library. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, nr shops, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Shopping centre & Council library, liquefactioned. Closer to Bower Ave again, massive liquefaction. Mud everywhere. Lamorna Rd: Muddy. Hurst Pl:: Huge quakemire pile. Near Bower Ave, Land Rover parked in roadside mud.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Lamorna Rd / Queenspark Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, between Lamorna Rd & Hurst Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr / Hurst Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr, between Hurst Pl & Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Drove up liquefactioned Bower Ave & along liquefactioned Broadhaven Ave, where I'd just trekked & parked by Forest Dr. I wanted to see more Parklands damage, and complete a smaller circuit of my figure 8 trek.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Queenspark Dr / Bower Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Quake crack, liquefaction damage, Bower Ave, nr Boadhaven Ave cnr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Liquefaction, sinkhole damage, Broadhaven Ave / Bottle Lake Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Forest Dr: As liquefactioned as Bower Ave: Quakemired sinkholes, roadsides, pavements. Part cleared road & driveways. Liquefaction, bad at Courtfield Cl junction & down Courtfield Cl. Some men wore gloves while digging. Park Estate catastrophe.
Floral decorations: Parklands citizens decorated orange, plastic, road cones, two months before it would be fashionable decorating orange, plastic, road cones with flowers honouring 185 quake dead during 22.02.11 quake. Snapped Xmas tinsel & floral decorations on several orange, plastic, road cones, brightening grey quakemire.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Broadhaven Ave / Forest Dr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefactioned Broadhaven Reserve, seen from Forest Dr / Courtfield Cl, 23.12.11 quake swarm. Bottle Lake Forest Park beyond
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr / Courtfield Cl, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr, between Courtfield Cl & Monterey Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Trekked quakemire past Broadhaven Park, past muddy, sinkholed Monterey Pl, to Anglesea Ave & back, past Inwoods Rd, Inwoods Cl & a repeat bit of muddy Broadhaven Ave, past a house demolition site, to my muddy car.
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr / Monterey Pl, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Forest Dr, between Monterey Pl & Anglesea Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Inwoods Cl / Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. House demolition site, Broadhaven Ave, nr Inwoods Cl, 23.12.11 quake swarm
Drove home via muddy Bower Ave again, past a parked fire engine & firemen calming a woman, distressed about a water-filled sinkhole outside her quakemired home.
26.12.11. Fire engine. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave, nr Broadhaven Ave cnr, 23.12.11 quake swarm
26.12.11. Liquefaction damage, Bower Ave / Broadhaven Ave, 23.12.11 quake swarm. Broadhaven Reserve & Bottle Lake Forest Park beyond
In October before the 23.12.11 Xmas Quake Swarm, CERA designated Parklands roads I trekked to be green zone: Repaired housing would need TC3 foundations, meaning damaged land was liquefaction prone, requiring stronger foundations. And continued fat rates for Council.
Why was Parklands sandy swampland developed? University & tech studies & Council consents were behind quake reality. But developers & Council profited.
CERA Landcheck website, I looked up Parklands roads: Forest Dr, Courtfield Cl, Monterey Pl, Bower Ave, Broadhaven Ave. They were all green zoned by geotech engineers, Tonkin & Taylor!
Back to Burnside, I drove along Frosts Rd, by Travis Wetland, past another QE11 Park gate, quake flooded since the Feb 22 Killer Quake. Travis Wetland claimed its own across Frosts Rd & into trashed QE11 Park. (2022: That quake sunk area beside Frosts Rd would still flood after heavy rains.)
Official response to 23.12.11 Xmas Quake destruction: CERA boss Sutton flew in a helicopter over the disaster area & said it was bad. Other officials holiday bullshitted, like Key's "psychological damage." 24.12.11. The Press headline: "New quakes vindicate land decisions Brownlee." Misinformation, as Parklands was zoned green by CERA & dug itself out of quakemire after 3 quakes. Did that vindicate NZ National govt land decisions? Brownlee was on holiday & returned to Christchurch soon post quake. Mayor Parker returned from his holiday in Taupo, mouthing inanities on 23.12.11 TV, as facile as deputy mayor Button had done on TV. Council CEO Marryatt on holiday in Queensland didn't bother to return, despite public fury at his recently announced salary increase. Marryatt's Council minions had done some silt digging & piling of silt on roadsides, on 24.12.11, the day after Xmas Quake Swarm began. Xmas Day & Boxing Day, no digging by authorities.
Xmas afternoon, after dropping off Luke & his girlfriend at New Brighton, Leah & I did a Parklands recce. I'd driven some of the roads I would trek the next day, Boxing Day. We saw no Council workers, nor CERA contractors in Hi-Vis vests digging mud on Xmas Day.
Boxing day, when I trekked for about 3 hours, 8-11am, all I saw was one water tanker spraying water on Bower Ave by Forest Park Estate. Two mechanical diggers were parked on mud there. There were no Council workers, nor CERA contractors in Hi-Vis vests removing silt wherever I walked on Boxing day morning. Just local residents mud digging.
Over the last 15 months, quakes moved from W to E from Canterbury Plains across Christchurch & Port Hills & were presently active in Pegasus Bay.
*Trekked Bower Ave, Broadhaven Ave, Inwoods Rd, Queenspark Dr, Forest Dr. 152 snaps.
Coda:
Sun 14.02.16. Valentines Day, M5.7 quake. Deja Vu. Liquefaction damage, sinkholes, sewage leaks at Bower Ave, Broadhaven Ave, Hurst Pl, Courtfield Cl & Linkwater Way.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Flooded Christchurch area can't be fixed - expert (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Parklands zoning right, engineer says - Tonkin & Taylor engineer (The Press / Stuff Co).
Responded to an email from a Bower Ave resident, living briefly in Australia, concerned about her property, currently green / blue zoned, awaiting demolition & rebuild.
ReplyDeleteNot forgetting the in fighting between Insurance companies and EQC. EQC argue they can repair when the Insurance companies have their own professional inspection and say its a rebuild. EQC came to my home, used a small spirit level to check the whole house was level! they never once lifted the carpets to look at the huge cracks in the floor(as they were not allowed to) That's like buying a car with a cracked chassis!
ReplyDelete