Three years on

Saturday marks three years since the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that hit Christchurch at 12.51 on the 22 of February 2011, killing 185 people, injuring thousands and devastating the city.

Six days, and then one year, after the quake, RNZ’s Simon Morton cycled across the city, talking to the locals.

Three years on, Australia’s SBS revists people and places destroyed by the quake. Bring tissues. And the New Zealand Herald speaks to some of the survivors.

This week, some Cantabrians will be remembering those lost by placing flowers in the now-ubiquitous road cones.  CTV staff will release balloons with the names of their former colleagues.

The psychological implications are still being felt, especially for children. (Schools will get extra funding for support staff, it was announced this week.)

Writing for the Christchurch Press, Philip Matthews says it can feel like the city is stuck in a malaise three years on.

The sharpness of the tragedy is now remote. The rebuild is slower than expected and the great architectural wonders we hoped to see - as a kind of compensation for our suffering - don't appear to be arriving. No one can even agree if the Christ Church Cathedral should stay or if it should go, so it just sits there for three years as the world's largest pigeon coop.

The Press also has opinion columns on the rebuild, and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. While the rebuild is ongoing – and slower than many expected – construction is set to outstrip demolition in central Christchurch for the first time in three years, says the newspaper. But after three years, hundreds of business are still waiting for insurance claims to be settled. And some suburbs are struggling more than others. 

And it’s not just buildings waiting to be repaired, the natural environment is still being restored.