Christchurch New Zealand Earthquakes

In Memory of 185 victims, who lose their lives on the 22 February 2011, at the Christchurch Earthquake - You shall always be remembered.

Civic Memorial Service, marking the 1st anniversary of 2011 Christchurch Earthquake was held at Latimer Square on 22 February 2012 at North Hagley Park in Christchurch NZ.

So familiar have tremors in Christchurch that locals are good at estimating the magnitude of the earthquakes. They have had plenty of practice.

Since the 7.1 quake in September 2010 - the first and biggest, which caused no fatalities - geologists have measured more than 10,000 earthquakes in the region.

The anniversary was weighing heavy on people's minds, with any adrenalin from the early recovery period having long drained away.

This day will stand as a historical disaster in New Zealand.

I remember that day clearly, I was in New Plymouth hospital waiting for an operation on my broken leg.

I laid in the hospital bed watching TV as the special news, 1 pm on the 22 February 2011, of Christchurch earthquake, deaths and scenes of horror, with what was unfolding in front of my eyes, with my heart aching for all those people, even now nearly 5 years later, tears are coming to my eyes with the memories.

The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a powerful natural event that severely damaged New Zealand's second-largest city, killing 185 people in what has been described as one of the nation's worst peacetime disasters.

The magnitude 6.3 (ML) earthquake that struck the Canterbury region in New Zealand's South Island at 12:51 pm on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 local time.

The earthquake was centered 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the town of Lyttelton, and 10 kilometers (6 mi) south-east of the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand's second-most populous city.

It followed nearly six months after the magnitude 7.1 Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010, which caused significant damage to Christchurch and the central Canterbury region, but no direct fatalities.

The earthquake caused widespread damage across Christchurch, especially in the central city and eastern suburbs, with damage exacerbated by buildings and infrastructure already being weakened by the 4 September 2010 earthquake and its aftershocks. Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs, producing around 400,000 tonnes of silt.

The earthquake was reported to be felt across the South Island and the lower and central North Island.

In total, 185 people were killed in the earthquake, making the earthquake the second-deadliest natural disaster recorded in New Zealand (after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake), and fourth-deadliest disaster of any kind recorded in New Zealand, with nationals from more than 20 countries among the victims.

Over half of the deaths occurred in the six-storey Canterbury Television (CTV) Building, which collapsed and caught fire in the quake.

The government declared a state of national emergency, which stayed in force until 30 April 2011.

It has been estimated that the total cost of rebuilding to insurers to be around NZ$20-30 billion, making it by far New Zealand's costliest natural disaster, and the third costliest earthquake (nominally) worldwide.

The earthquake has been the most damaging in a year-long earthquake swarm affecting the Christchurch area.

It has been followed by a large aftershock on 13 June (which caused considerable additional damage) and a series of large shocks on 23 December 2011.

New Zealand has had its fair share of earthquakes, and with the increasing coverage of earthquakes worldwide, it is something that we cannot toss on the back burner, we must be aware, take action if caught in an earthquake.

Learn all you can, about earthquakes and how to cope for survivable, learn what to do if one happens near you.

The above photo of the Japanese search and rescue team approaching the ruins of the CTV building on the 24 February 2011, which were great in helping to rescue many victims of the Christchurch earthquakes.

The six-storey Canterbury Television (CTV) building collapsed leaving only its lift shaft standing, which caught fire.

The building housed the TV station, a medical clinic and an English language school.

The school—King's Education—catered to students from Japan, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Korea.

94 bodies were recovered from the CTV Building.

On 23 February police decided that the damage was not survivable, and rescue efforts at the building were suspended.

Initially more than 100 people were believed have died in the building, the total reached 115.

Fire-fighting and recovery operations resumed that night, later joined by a Japanese search and rescue squad.

Thirteen Japanese students from the Toyama College of Foreign Languages are missing, with some feared trapped in the rubble.

Of the 166 confirmed dead by 12 March 2011, 94 were recovered from the CTV building