Personally, I have been essentially unaffected: I'm in a brand new home in an area which was not badly hit, and the only issue we had was no water for 9 days. Fortunately, we were still allowed to flush our toilet - and don't ever let anyone tell you there are greater luxuries than hot running water and an internal flushing toilet!
Bathing out of a bucket gets old really fast lemme tell ya!
The city is, as you are aware, an absolute mess. Check the videos of the downtown area:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3-Kdt5XpHo
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPGsX3rd7vQ&NR=1
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJNbibsQxjE&NR=1
There are plenty more videos and photo galleries out there.
I was actually spectacularly lucky, because exactly 24 hours prior to the quake, I was hammering down the Lyttleton summit road into Lyttleton, directly above the epicenter, on a road which was almost completely covered by falling boulders. Had it been 24 hours earlier, I doubt whether I would have survived - certainly my bike would not have - it would have been completely impossible to stay on a bike during the shaking we had.
As it was, our brand-new tilt-slab concrete building for work was almost undamaged - only superficial cracks in a couple of internal wals where they join the slabs. Every PC went over - and quite a few ceiling tiles fell out, along with our smoke-cloak anti-theft device.
We had 3 days off work while the building was inspected -and then right back to work.
I was worried the bike might have fallen over in the garage, but when we got home, only a mess greeted us - no breakages even - except for a wooden kitset dinosaur, since repaired.
Others did not escape so fortunately:my folks were out of town (thank goodness) so the day after I went over there but could not get in through the front gate: the 12-inch post the gate is mounted to had moved. It took 30 minutes to get into my Dad's workshop, and it was a far-out disaster in there! Had to use a fence straining tool and a bunch of No.8 wire to be able to open the gate...
From the kitchen we removed 6 large boxes of broken glass and crockery alone. The stairs had shifted within the house - but elevator is still working fine. Phew.
Even my folks place was nothing compared to what happened in the East of town. In many places only 1 in 20 houses are occupied (or even standing upright!) and the roads are atrocious. Horrendous. Awful. It's put motorcycling back 20 years!
Having the 906 was a real blessing, because for the first few weeks after the quake, a normal 11 minute drive would take at least 90 minutes because most roads were closed through town, and around town.
I haven't ventured up into the hills at all yet, but I imagine the roads up there are not well at all. GNS reports that the northern parts of the port hils (above the epicenter) have lifted 40cm-60cm in altitude, while parts of Christchurch have sunk by up to 20cm or more.Most damage has happened around the Avon and Heathcote rivers, with roads completely destroyed - lifting and sinking by as much as 2 metres in places.
It will be at least 2 years until most of downtown is open again, and at least 20 years before the city has recovered. It is very very saddening that the citizens are not permitted to go downtown to mourn the loss of many very important buildings prior to their demolition. When we do see the after effects, it's just a pile of rubble, or a completely bare patch of ground.
Lots and lots of bikes on the road after the quake, which I suppose is a good thing - but several motorcycle shops were downtown, and none of them are open yet. Or even accessible.
I'm making a point of visiting every business I can that has re-opened downtown, to support them with purchases - most of these small businesses are up against it, and I think the real problems are about to begin, with insurance expiring, and loss-of-income insurance only paying a pittance compared to what they thought it would provide.
Many many many small businesses have yet to fail - and they will. I predict an additional 10,000 people will lose their jobs in the coming months.
Builders - believe it or not, are going broke. No one can build, or continue to build a new home, as it's not possible to get building consents, nor to insure a new home under any circumstances. In house sales, you can only insure the home through the company that previously insured it. There is almost no repair work, or a trickle at the most, and so by the time new houses CAN be built, there won't be anyone to build them. Nor will there be places for the massive influx of builders to stay! They will have to build their own homes first...
All in all a really bad blow for the city, but most people I speak to are positive - if a little worried about the the "new" city might look. I fear a plethora of square boxes 3 stories tall.
