Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Sun 12.09.10. Darfield Quake. Day 9. Manchester St, Ground Zero, CBD State of Emergency Cordon

Sun 12.09.10. Darfield Quake. Day 9. Manchester St, Ground Zero, CBD State of Emergency cordon focus: I wanted to see Ground Zero near steel mesh fenced cordoned, Manchester Courts ghost & Worcester St crossing behind Christ Church Cathedral, cordoned during the first State of Emergency week. So far, only the privileged few, like TVNZ crews reporting at Ground Zero, mayor Parker, PM John Key, cops, NZDF soldiers, CD, bldg inspectors were allowed there. As Council elections loomed, there was criticism of mayor Parker by detractors disliking his quake photo-ops & Parker's obfuscating that only a small proportion of Christchurch was quake damaged. That made it hard for businesses to pick up.

Rossall St / Holmwood Rd: Harcourts, white, plastic taped; orange, plastic, road cone cordoned; blue tarped roof; new, wooden pillars supporting awning. Flowers on Holmwood, new, wooden pillars supporting awning. Green tarped roof.


12.09.10. Quake damaged Harcourts real estate bldg with temp wooden pillar, Rossall St / Holmwood Rd, state of emergency



12.09.10. Quake damaged Flowers On Holmwood with temp wooden pillars, Holmwood Rd / Rossall St, state of emergency. Flowers on Holmwood would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake & replaced by a temp, porta-cabin cafe for about a year, then rebuilt

Rossall St: shop window, hand-written sign:

AS OF MONDAY
13th SEPTEMBER
WE WILL BE BACK
TO OUR ORIGINAL
TRADING HOURS
WE LOOK FORWARD TO
SEEING YOU THEN

Despite the State of Emergency & quake damaged shops, some shopkeepers did their best to resume business asap.


12.09.10. Quake sign, Rossall St, state of emergency

Rossall St: Cracked brick, garden wall. 2 storey house, blue tarped, brick chimney & roof.


12.09.10. Quake damaged Rossall St brick wall, soon demolished & rebuilt


12.09.10. Camellias. Blue tarp on a quake damaged roof, Rossall St, state of emergency

Manchester St: Many bldgs, orange, plastic, road coned; steel mesh fence cordoned. USAR / TF graffiti on windows. Green, yellow, or red stickered. Some windows broken. Some roofs tarped. Many old, brick or stone bldgs, cracked around windows & at roof heights, like parapets e.g. Maru Japanese Restaurant & Bar, Druids Friendly Society, SBS Bank, The Bead Shop, Coffee Stop, Carnivores, Le Plonk, Essence...


12.09.10. Manchester St / Gloucester St crossing, without cops, NZDF soldiers & Civil Defence, state of emergency. Most bldgs in the pic would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. USAR / TF yellow graffiti, Maru Japanese Restaurant, Manchester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. USAR / TF yellow graffiti & green stickered door, Druids Friendly Society, Manchester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. GLASS HAZ: USAR / TF yellow graffiti on yellow stickered SBS Bank door, Manchester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Ground Zero, part demolished, sanitized Westende Jewellers, Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Yellow diggers parked before ruin. Bldg completely demolished within 2 months


12.09.10. Part demolished, quake trashed Westende Jewellers & white plastic seat, Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Bldg completely demolished within 2 months


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Part demolished, quake trashed Westende Jewellers, Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Yellow digger parked before ruin. Bldg completely demolished within 2 months

Westende Jewellers ghost, Manchester St / Worcester St, Ground Zero: Nightly, TVNZ broadcast quake news from the "dolls house" business there for a week post quake. Lurid, red lights highlighted the battered bldg & newsman. Melodrama & breathless hype implied all Christchurch bldgs were thus damaged.

Not so, Rockshop & other nearby bldgs were unscathed. About 90% of Christchurch bldgs were undamaged, huge areas undamaged. Despite NZ media hype, Facebook friends & relatives overseas - SA, UK, USA, Canada - said they'd heard little or nothing about Christchurch quake on their news. Within 2 months Westende Jewellers would be demolished.


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Southern Demolition digger resting on Sunday, quake trashed Westende Jewellers, Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Bldg completely demolished within 2 months


12.09.10. Close up, part demolished Westende Jewellers, Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Bldg completely demolished within 2 months


14.11.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Changing Christchurch: 2 months post quake, Ground Zero post demolition, Westende Jewellers would be rebuilt, but CERA would soon demolish the brand new bldg Manchester St / Worcester St for E Frame parkland.



14.11.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Two months post quake, Ground Zero post demolition, Westende Jewellers, Manchester St / Worcester St.

Manchester St: Some quake damage was demolished quickly, like Ground Zero, Westende Jewellers, some slowly, like Manchester Courts. Post quake, empty demolition sites evolved all over Christchurch, before intermittent rebuild began.


14.11.10. Steel mesh fence cordon behind a white / orange, plastic bollard cordon, Manchester St. Two months post quake, Ground Zero, S view, slow Manchester Courts demolition. Yellow crane & yellow digger parked by Manchester Courts. Most bdgs in the pic would be demolished post 2011 quakes. Left side of Manchester St would become CERA's Blueprint E Frame


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake trashed Westende Jewellers, cleaned up for TV news, Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake trashed, Westende Jewellers, two photographers, Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake trashed, Westende Jewellers, Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Rubble by quake trashed, Westende Jewellers, steel mesh fence cordoned. Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Sunday rubberneckers, Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Steel mesh fence cordon within white, plastic tape & orange, plastic, road cone cordon. Backdrop: Christ Church Cathedral tower would topple in the 22.02.11 quake


12.09.10. Quake damaged, steel mesh fence cordoned Octagon Restaurant (Trinity Church) Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Background: Hotel Grand Chancellor would be trashed in the 22.02.11 quake & demolished. Octagon Restaurant tower would collapse in the 22.02.11 quake. Octagon Restaurant would eventually be restored

Manchester St / Worcester St: FOOTPATH CLOSED. Octagon Restaurant / Trinity Church: steel mesh fence cordoned, USAR / TF graffiti on door. Despite steel bands around the greystone tower, greystones cracked, some Oamaru whitestones sheared off. Tower would soon be steel braced.


12.09.10. Manchester St view, quake damaged Octagon Restaurant (Trinity Church), steel mesh fence cordoned, state of emergency. Octagon Restaurant would eventually be restored


12.09.10. FOOTPATH CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordoned, quake damaged Octagon Restaurant (Trinity Church) Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency. Octagon tower would collapse in the 22.02.11 quake. Octagon Restaurant would eventually be restored


14.11.10. White / orange, plastic bollard cordon. Two months post quake, iron braced Octagon Restaurant (Trinity Church) Manchester St / Worcester St. Octagon tower & metal bracing would collapse in the 22.02.11 quake. Octagon Restaurant would eventually be restored


12.09.10. FALLING HAZ, USAR / TF graffiti on quake damaged door, Octagon Restaurant (Trinity Church) Manchester St / Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Quake damaged Octagon Restaurant tower, quake reinforcement, Worcester St, state of emergency. Despite quake reinforcement, Octagon Restaurant tower would collapse in the 22.02.11 quake. Octagon Restaurant would eventually be restored


12.09.10. Quake damaged Octagon Restaurant tower & inadequate quake reinforcement, Worcester St, state of emergency. Octagon Restaurant tower would collapse in the 22.02.11 quake. Octagon Restaurant would eventually be restored


12.09.10. Worcester St view, quake damaged Octagon Restaurant, state of emergency. Octagon Restaurant tower would collapse in the 22.02.11 quake. Octagon Restaurant would eventually be restored

Worcester St: Design & arts college ghost, yellow stickered, USAR / TF graffiti on bronze door, windows flung open by quake. 3 storey, Pills For Thrills, fire razed, steel mesh fence cordoned. The only bldg destroyed by fire in the quake. Mayor Parker & PM Key were there for a photo-op. 2023. Design & arts college, still abandoned.


12.09.10. GLASS HAZ, USAR / TF yellow graffiti & yellow sticker, design and arts college door, Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Quake opened windows, design and arts college, Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake fire destroyed bldg & Pills For Thrills, Worcester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished


12.09.10. Pills For Thrills, fire blackened windows & fire escape, Worcester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordoned, Pills For Thrills, quake fire blackened bldg, Worcester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished


12.09.10. Pills For Thrills, top storey burnt out windows, Worcester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished


12.09.10. Pills For Thrills, middle storey burnt out windows, Worcester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished


12.09.10. Pills For Thrills, burnt our fire escape right, Worcester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished. Heritage Hotel / Government bldg left would survive the 2011 quakes


12.09.10. DANGER OVER HEAD falling stones hazard, Manchester St, state of emergency

Manchester St: DANGER OVERHEAD yellow, spray-painted on pavement. It was a crime for taggers to spray-paint graffiti, but it wasn't a crime during a State of Emergency for USAR / TF to spray-paint graffiti on windows, doors, walls, pavements.


12.09.10. Details, quake damaged bldgs despite quake reinforcements, after smashing together, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Quake damaged bldgs, steel fence cordoned. Manchester St, state of emergency. Manchester Courts beyond left would be demolished


12.09.10. Quake broken glass window, Manchester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Quake damaged The Bead Shop, Manchester St, state of emergency. The Bead shop would be demolished post 2011 quakes

Rockshop ghost: Red stickered, close to Manchester Courts ghost. Yellow, USAR / TF graffiti on window. "Don't panic!! The guitars are fine" glass door sign. Prior years, Jake & Luke had bought music & instruments from Rockshop. Rockshop would be demolished. Relocated to Hornby.


12.09.10. The Rockshop guitars undamaged by the quake, Manchester St, state of emergency. The Rockshop would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. USAR / TF graffiti on The Rockshop window, Manchester St, state of emergency. The Rockshop would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. The Rockshop red stickered door, Manchester St, state of emergency. The Rockshop would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. The Rockshop red stickered door & quake sign: "Don't Panic!! The guitars are fine." Manchester St, state of emergency. The Rockshop would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Undamaged guitars & music equipment, The Rockshop, Manchester St, state of emergency. The Rockshop would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Rubberneckers & quake broken window, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. USAR / TF graffiti & yellow sticker on Carnivores window, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Steel fence cordoned Le Plonk, Manchester St, state of emergency

Manchester Courts ghost: Steel mesh fence cordoned, closing Manchester St. Broken windows. Old, 7 storey, brick & Oamaru whitestone, would be demolished. X cracks could be seen on brick columns between broken windows. During quake years, 2010-2013, I would see many X cracks, calling then XL cracks, as the cracks zig-zagged following mortar cracks in L shaped steps.


12.09.10. Cyclists by steel mesh fence cordon viewing quake damaged Manchester Courts (soon demolished) Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Quake damaged windows & brickwork, Manchester Courts (soon demolished) Manchester St, state of emergency. See large X cracks on brickwork between broken windows


14.11.10. White / orange, plastic bollards, steel mesh fence cordon. Two months post quake view, Manchester Courts demolition, Manchester St, seen from Worcester St / Manchester St cordon. Yellow, crane truck & yellow digger parked by Manchester Courts


14.11.10. Two months post quake demolition, Manchester Courts, Manchester St. Yellow, crane truck & yellow digger parked by Manchester Courts


14.11.10. ROAD CLOSED. Two months post quake, steel mesh fence cordon detour around Manchester Courts demolition, Manchester St / Worcester St cordon. Most of the bldgs in the pic would be demolished post 2011 quakes

For more than 2 months post quake, while Manchester Courts was demolished, undamaged bldgs in the forbidden demolition cordon, like Rockshop, would lose business.


12.09.10. DANGER No entry: USAR / TF graffiti, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. DANGER No entry, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Steel fence cordon. Carpark DANGER, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Quake cracked parapet, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Quake damaged roofs, Manchester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Rubberneckers, Manchester St northbound view, state of emergency. Most of the bldgs in the pic would be demolished post 2011 quakes

Post quake, rubberneckers had to beware plastic tapes, wire mesh cordons, lurid USAR / TF graffiti, like yellow, spray-painted DANGER or DANGER NO ENTRY, then look up to find quake damages on bldgs. Rubberneckers wandered, twisting, nodding their heads.

I drove back to Burnside via Madras St & Barbadoes St, as Leah wanted to see CBD quake damage before she went back teaching on Monday. Schools, varsities, techs were closed during State of Emergency week for bldg inspections.

Gloucester St / Madras St: POLICE EMERGENCY Fallen bricks in alley by white, plastic taped, steel mesh fence cordoned Securities House.


12.09.10. POLICE EMERGENCY. Steel mesh fence cordon. Fallen parapet bricks behind Securities House, Gloucester St / Madras St, state of emergency. Securities House would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake

Madras St / Oxford Tce: Oxford Tce Baptist Church ghost. Steel mesh fence cordoned, white marble, Neo-Classic facade ruined: cracked pediment, entablature, parapet. Ionic capitals, white marble columns OK. The church would be wood & steel braced, then demolished, rebuilt modern style by 2017.


12.09.10. Quake damaged Oxford Tce Baptist Church, state of emergency. Baptist Church would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake & rebuilt by 2017


12.09.10. Quake damaged Oxford Tce Baptist Church entablature & pediment, state of emergency. Baptist Church would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake & rebuilt by 2017


12.09.10. Detail of quake damaged pediment & entablature, Oxford Tce Baptist Church, state of emergency. Baptist Church would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake & rebuilt by 2017


12.09.10. Quake damaged cnr Oxford Tce Baptist Church, state of emergency. Baptist Church would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake & rebuilt by 2017


14.11.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Two months post quake, iron braced, Oxford Tce Baptist Church. Baptist Church would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake & rebuilt by 2017


14.11.10. Two months post quake, iron braced entablature & pediment, Oxford Tce Baptist Church. Baptist Church would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake & rebuilt by 2017

Barbadoes St / Edgeware Rd: Simply Catering ghost, part demolished, red, spray-painted graffiti on brick wall: GONE BUT NOT OUT... WE'LL BE BACK.


12.09.10. Demolished Simply Catering, GONE BUT NOT OUT, Barbadoes St / Edgeware Rd state of emergency


12.09.10. Demolished Simply Catering, WE'LL BE BACK, Barbadoes St / Edgeware Rd state of emergency


12.09.10. Demolished Simply Catering, COFFEE & BAGELS sign, Barbadoes St / Edgeware Rd quake state of emergency

Manchester St again: Leah saw ghosts I'd seen earlier that afternoon. Rubberneckers had increased.


12.09.10. Yellow stickered Manchester St door, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished post 2011 quakes.


12.09.10. GLASS HAZ, SBS Bank, Manchester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Westende Jewellers, Ground Zero. Steel mesh fence cordon. Yellow digger. Sanitized demolition site. TVNZ news site, state of emergency, Manchester St / Worcester St. Westende Jewellers would be demolished within 2 months


12.09.10. Red stickered, Bead Shop, Manchester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon left. Rubberneckers, Manchester St, N view, state of emergency. Except Octagon Restaurant (Trinity Church) mid left, most bldgs in the pic would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Fire engine. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake razed, Pills For Thrills, Worcester St, state of emergency. The bldg would be demolished


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Fire Rescue, quake damaged Octagon Restaurant (Trinity Church) Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordoned, design & arts college, Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Quake damaged chair, French restaurant, Worcester St, state of emergency


12.09.10. Cathedral Junction, Worcester St, state of emergency. Cathedral Junction would survive the 2011 quakes

Days before, Cathedral Junction was crawling with State of Emergency cops & NZDF soldiers. I hadn't seen a cop or soldier in the CBD all Sunday afternoon. Risible how cops & soldiers took Sunday afternoon off during the State of Emergency, inviting looting!

Cathedral Sq: Cracked, grey paving stones. Base Backpackers ghost, steel mesh fence cordoned. Saints & Sinners bar closed.


12.09.10. Quake cracked paving stone, Cathedral Sq, state of emergency


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordoned, quake damaged, Base Backpackers, Cathedral Sq, state of emergency. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Base Backpackers quake sign, Cathedral Sq, state of emergency. Base Backpackers would be demolished post 2011 quakes


12.09.10. Saints & Sinners bar closed, Cathedral Sq, state of emergency. The bar would be demolished post 2011 quakes

Steel mesh fence cordon sign:

DEAR GUEST
BASE BACKPACKERS
DAMAGED BECAUSE OF THE
EARTHQUAKE

PLEASE EMAIL
... if you would
like to arrange a refund

If you have a booking at Base tonight
see The Camelot Hotel and they will
sort you out

*Trekked Rossall St, Manchester St, Worcester St, Gloucester St, Oxford Tce, Barbadoes St, Cathedral Sq. 86 snaps.

Facebook:

@Janet. Scary week, dazed riding aftershocks. Carrying on.

Coping. I went out daily, coolpixing as much damage & huge intact areas as possible, before damage gets demolished, or fixed. Leah works & socializes, Jake & Luke socialize. Schools starting next week, State of Emergency hopefully over. Many clean ups, demolitions, repairs. Citizens shopping, businesses relocating if damaged, business as usual if possible, polite, friendly, good road manners for a change. Flashes of grief, tears, anger, "normal" responses to shock & crisis. 12 September 7.59am.

Aftershock cat monitor: Our Korean friend says she knows when an aftershock is coming, as her cat gets spooked seconds before every aftershock. As I'm deaf, I found our cat Flair a good aftershock monitor. When we were in the same room with an aftershock imminent, curled up asleep Flair would wake, raise her head, open her eyes, pull her ears back, a sign an aftershock was coming. Her ears stayed back until aftershock shaking & rumbling was over, then she settled again. 12 September 8.02am.

@Bruce. We survived. Scruffy, dirty from my muddy walks.

@Alan. High on adrenalin for 8 days. Heard that UK telly was slack. Chch got a support message from the queen. 12 September 10.10am.

@Craig. Although everyone was shaken in the quake & many aftershocks, there are vast areas of Chch undamaged by the quake, some old bldgs stood up OK. Most modern, wooden bldgs survived well, thankfully most of Chch are the latter now. Roof tiles, slates, brick chimneys thrown off all over Chch. Braced chimneys did OK. i.e. Quake proof bldg methods enabled wooden bldgs to survive. Modern high rises looked OK too. Bldg inspectors still checking bldgs.

Soggy suburbs near rivers, streams, swamps were badly hit by liquefaction mud which shoves up mounds from underground, pushed up by seismic waves & ground water. [Slumping & hollowing too, due to quake compaction of soil particles, especially by riversides, causing lateral spreading & sinkholes]. Saw contractors pumping water out of a Fifield Tce sinkhole by Heathcote River, before they could work on water pipes, dangerous work after rains & liquefaction.

Damage was on the plains where there's underground water, i.e. water & quakes, a destructive combo. Epicentre near Darfield. No offshore quake, so no tsunami danger. Lucky the quake was early morning, 4.35am, so few were at work, socializing, at school...

Generally old, brick bldgs & stone bldgs did badly, shaken to bits, especially tops of bldgs: parapets, gables, awnings. Any bldg, even new ones, did badly by rivers, streams, swampy ground, enabling liquefaction to cause mud & crack damage. Yet I drove through a new suburb Aidanfield on boggy ground yesterday, seeing no damage. Silty soil type contributes to liquefaction, shingle less so.

Huge areas of Chch are built on floodplain silt. After rains, saturated silt was liquefactioned by quake shaking. NW suburbs like Burnside are built on shingle, hence less liquefaction. 13 September 3.34pm.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

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