Mar 12, 2011
I’ve been taking a lot of photos since the earthquake (Christchurch, not Japan. I can’t even contemplate what they’re going through right now. Stay strong guys) but most have been from around the residential suburbs. Today I parked up on Fitzgerald Street and went for a walk along the cordon to the north of Christchurch CBD which runs about one street back from Bealey Avenue.
The soldiers manning the cordon seemed happy for me to take photos but I couldn’t see much of the city from the barrier. I did manage to get a few photos from along Bealey Ave itself though. There’s been some extensive damage to large buildings, particularly the Carlton building and Knox Church.
Fitzgerald Avenue Photos
Fitzgerald Avenue between Kilmore Street and Bealey Ave is a mess. Half of the road has slumped towards the river by a good metre or two. My brother-in-law was her when the 22nd earthquake hit and he said the damage wasn’t as bad as this at first. A local resident told me that the road is slumping more and more each day.
Bealey Avenue and Side Streets
Bealey Avenue is open to traffic, as are many of the side streets, and the damage to buildings along this street is quite impressive and perhaps just a small taste of the damage that lies beyond the cordon.
Notable features of Bealey Avenue include the Speight’s Ale House, which appears to be fine and open for business, and Knox Church and the Carlton bar/restaurant which have suffered severe damage. A new feature now also appears to be a large pile of rubble with a new looking red Holden placed on top. Weird.
Red Holden on Rubble, Bealey Ave
Photos of Knox Church
At the Hagley Park end of Bealey Avenue lies the Knox Church. This church suffered in the first earthquake and featured in the news a fair bit at the time. It’s crazy to think that all that appeared to be damaged then were some bricks that had fallen from near the roof. Now, Knox Church is all but a wooden frame holding up a roof.
It’s eerie to drive past this large church and be able to look straight through it to trees on the other side.
Other Photos of Damage Along and Around Bealey Avenue
There’s plenty more damage in this area. Some of these were take on Bealey Avenue itself. Others were taken on side streets off Bealey Ave.
Photos of the Cordon and Christchurch City Centre
They army are doing a fine job manning the cordon around the city centre. It must be pretty dull work and the weather isn’t that flash at the moment.
It’s still surreal to see armed vehicles guarding entrances to the city though.
Unfortunately you can’t see much of the city centre, but what you can see shows there’s obviously a lot of damage. The roads are swollen and raised in many place. The once flat CBD will now feature plenty of hills as well as natural traffic calming features.
Other Earthquake Damage Photos
These photos just show some of the other earthquake damage round the city. Some from north of the cordon, others from either side of Colombo Street, south of Moorhouse and others from places such as Ferry Road.
Army vehicles in a play park. Looks like a photo more likely to have been taken during the violence in Bosnia rather than in Christchurch, New Zealand
A row of modern flats leaning precariously
I guess they ran out of red stickers
Carlton Restaurant
Police cars apparently escorting a red Daihatsu hatchback
One News headquarters for reporting on the Christchurch Earthquake
Red Cross Aid Station and Water on Pages Road
Ferry Road
This is East Gate Mall in Linwood
Avon River in Wainoni
In other news, my house has now been visited by the fire brigade, some nurses, some community staff, some church representatives, an EQC official, some nuns and today the army showed up to give us a toilet. All within the past week. Cheers guys!
Stay strong, Christchurch.
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