On the 4th of September 2010 an earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck Darfield near the city of Christchurch. A series of over 9000 aftershocks has hit this region, the most severe of which was 6.3 magnitude on the 22nd February 2011. The last was both close to the surface, and directly underneath the eastern suburbs of the city so the devastation has been defined as by far the greatest earthquake disaster to strike an urban centre in world history.



This book has exactly 850 photographs mostly at two images a page that cover the period from the first earthquake until the 15th November 2011. The first earthquake seemed to be a minor affair, but as the book unfolds the devastation of the 6.3 event becomes clear, and the centre of the city was cordoned off. There were 181 fatalities in the 6.3 event, and none in the first earthquake which is a reflection of the tough building codes in New Zealand, and these codes have been toughened by 30% as a result. New Zealanders are descended from pioneering stock, and are a resilient mob. 30,000 homes (including mine) were destroyed, 1200 business premises will be demolished including 160 high rise office towers and hotels, 200km of sewer reticulation has to be replaced, 80km of roads have to be levelled and re-sealed. That is just the start as almost the entire centre of the city has to be re-built from scratch. This book has it all !