Christchurch resident Renea Mackie took these photos of her city four months after the massive earthquake that rocked the city in February. Photo: Renea Mackie.
The massive earthquake that destroyed large parts of New Zealand’s second biggest city struck at 12:51pm on an overcast Tuesday in February, as Grant Wells was eating a Chinese meal in a Christchurch food court.
“As soon as the shaking stopped, I got out of there as fast as I could,” the 43-year-old consultant says.
“I had to climb over a fridge that had fallen over as I left.
“Then there was about two hours of just utter, well, the world had turned upside down.
“Cell phones weren’t working, the streets were gridlocked.
“My car was on the fifth floor of a car park and I couldn’t get it out.”
The earthquake that hit the South Island province of Canterbury on February 22 killed 181 people and destroyed or badly damaged about 900 buildings in Christchurch city.
The government and residents are now using a mix of high- and low-tech methods to reimagine how a rebuilt Christchurch could look and to remember what they have lost.
Read more about the technology being used to rebuild Christchurch at smh.com.au.