Christchurch Rebuilding

Our OAT tour leader has lived his entire life in Christchurch and so we had heard much about the current situation prior to our arrival. NZ receives 15,000 (that's not a typo!) earthquakes a year. You may remember that in 2011 Christchurch had two major and many slightly smaller aftershocks which killed almost 200 and really devastated this 150 year old city. While billions have already been spent, much remains to be done. Bob told us that it will be many years until the city fully recovers.
Many buildings have already been demolished but we were all struck by how many remain empty awaiting the wrecking ball.
The taller building in the background is an empty hotel!


A very large parking garage awaiting demolition!


Site of some new construction...


The empty central police station..




The major shopping area was destroyed and await an investor to rebuild. Cleverly shipping containers have been transformed into coffee shops and popular stores.















This is a sculpture build from steel beams from a WTC building which is a memorial to all the firefighters especially those who lost their lives in 911.




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