Christchurch 2 years on

[Kiwi Eagle]

Went for a wander around town yesterday and thought I would share some of the photos

This one is pretty emotional to look at, a chair for each of the people that passed away, when you see a toddlers chair it brings a tear to the eye

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This was once the tallest building in CHCH

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Starbucks shot not the clearest, but these 2 are looking inside shops that nobody has been inside since the day it happened, can see where the ceiling has caved in

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This empty space used to be the place where all the action happened at 3am lol, was a McDonalds, KFC and Burger King there where people went after a nightout, used to be dustups galore

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This is just on the outskirts of Cathedral Square

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The bashed up Cathedral

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1 of the old night time hotspots, was about 5 clubs in that spot where the mini is still hanging

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Here are a few aerial shots of the CBD to finish, not a lot of it left

 

[ManlyBacker]

Thanks KE. Lived in ChCh for a year in the 70's and been back a few times, last one for a weddding a few years ago. Unbelievable damage and so many sad stories. It is obvious that to correct that level of destruction is a long process.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

No worries mate, you wouldn't recognize the place now. Even now 28 months on parts of town are still cordoned off

Gonna be 20+ years to fix the place. Will try and head down to Lancaster Park sometime and get a few shots

A walk around the city certainly shows you how important today's loss in the footy is

 

[ManlyBacker]

Last time I was there I stayed in a hotel opposite the Cathedral so I know exactly what the damage means and how it is the heart of ChCh.

BTW I used to rent in Spreydon. I have no idea what that is like now but very working class when I was there. Nice view of the mountains (covered in snow in winter) in front of Littleton I think it was.

 

[Mals]

Cheers KE. Shocking to see 2 years later how badly smashed up the city still is. Are the tremors still happening?

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

They are still fighting over that Cathedral, heritage groups etc are against the plans to pull it down

They are in the process of building a cardboard cathedral, will have to get some shots of that as well

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Cheers KE. Shocking to see 2 years later how badly smashed up the city still is. Are the tremors still happening?

They have really subsided the past 6 months or so, still have little ones most days but not many that are big enough to feel happening, every so often though we get a 4 just to remind us it is still there

Every time I see those 185 Empty Chairs it really hits home what happened, especially seeing the babies chairs sitting there and also thinking that 1 of them is for an old cricket teammates wife

 

[panash]

very sad when you hear loss of life , especially children i have 2 of my own and it gets me teary when you take a minute to think...

i went there in jan 2008 , i enjoyed my stay.

i went had a greek yeero from a shop there , good feed ( huge pita bread )
i wonder if that shop is still standing.

best wishes to NZ !!

 

[CAMBO]

Are you serious KE 20 years to rebuild that seems excessive.
Are they doing anything with the new buildings to prevent damage from future quakes if that is even possible.

Mother Nature can be such a bitch

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Yeah mate, it is an unbelievably long process

New Buildings all have to match the latest building code for areas prone to quakes. The time is takes to bring a building down safely, then get the site ready to build on, gain consents and then get the tenders out etc and you can see why it takes so long. There is such a backlog of consents pending approval that the government are threatening to step in and take over

I know these things move out of the mainstream news very quickly, but people coming here would be staggered. There are still people living in the backyard of their stuffed homes in tents and caravans because they haven't gotten their insurance money while waiting for EQC to come to the party with assessments etc. Was something like 100,000 homes to be assessed and then it goes through so many departments that the claim goes through that it has turned into a nightmare for many people

My aunty recently had her place done, had to move out for 6 weeks, and the work done was shoddy so they had a battle to get it done properly, and in the extra week it took to fix that up some mongrels broke into the garage where a lot of stuff was stored and cleaned them out.

Whole neighbourhoods are going to be wiped out by the time all in completed, my cousin had to leave his house and that area is now deserted and every day 2-3 more homes are demolished. A lady I work with is back in her place with the work being done, and in her street there are only 4 houses left that are livable

 

[Chip and Chase]

Wow those aerial shots really highlight the amount of destruction.

 

[Fro]

thanks Dan

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Still more in that area to be pulled down as well Chip

We are getting it all at the moment lol, 2 days solid of rain has a bit of surface flooding around the city today and have the worst snow for 20 years forecast for Thursday and Friday

 

[globaleagle]

I clicked like but it's not really a like situation.

But thanks for posting the pics and letting us know some of the inside things that go on when the media moves on from a disaster.

The new orleans debacle really showed how the 'all powerful' usa either didn't care, or didn't know how to 1)rescue people and 2) rebuild on a large scale.

So thanks KE and remember that there's always an appreciative audience here whenever you want to update us.

Reading about the sad stories that you are experiencing (or close friends/family) helps to put some things in perspective.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

No worries GE

Often people ask what is happening and because it isn't in the news assume everything is back to normal, but like any disaster it leaves behind plenty of hard times even though the media move onto the next thing

This sort of stuff certainly puts the footy into perspective, the last 5 years or so personally have shown the importance of the game in the overall scheme of things and is why I don't get as carried away as I used to about it lol

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Check this video out fellas, is right in the heart of the city

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=603189976369538

 

[globaleagle]

Poignant.

Amazing, the before and after shots. Lets you know how quickly nature can destroy and how long humans take to rebuild.

Thanks.

 

[lsz]

Amazing - shows the massive massive job ahead

 

[globaleagle]

@"Kiwi Eagle"

Reports of earthquakes in NZ recently.

Any probs near you guys?

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Hey mate

I was in Sydney for the past week so missed out on all the goings on with these ones

Is about a 4-5 hour drive north of where I am, sounds like it was a pretty powerful one but luckily was out at sea rather than under a city, that would have been catastrophic if that was the case. A lot of people have actually moved out of Christchurch and gone up that way so they would be a bit shaken up by it