About Christchurch
Located on the east coast of the South Island, Christchurch is a city of contrasts.
It is a place where its residents continue to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle amidst a natural environment world-renowned for its beauty. A growing cosmopolitan ambience also adds a touch of excitement without overt flashiness.
There is nowhere else in the world where within two hours of an international airport you can ski at a world class alpine resort, play golf, bungy jump, go rafting, mountain biking, hot-air ballooning, wind surfing, whale watching and visit world class wineries and gardens.
The city centre is comfortingly compact and the most delightful central feature is the gently winding Avon River. On its grassy banks lined with poplars and weeping willows, office workers and visitors join street entertainers, seagulls and ducks for lunch in the sun.
An earthquake with magnitude 7.1 occurred near Christchurch at 4:35 am local time, 4 September 2010 (16:35 UTC, 3 September 2010).[13] The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.0 miles), and despite widespread damage there were no fatalities.[14][15] A large aftershock of magnitude 6.3 occurred on 22 February 2011 at 12:51 pm. It was centred just to the north of Lyttelton, 10 kilometres south east of Christchurch, at a depth of 5 km.[16]
Although lower on the moment magnitude scale than the previous earthquake, the intensity and violence of the ground shaking was measured to be VIII on theMMI, among the strongest ever recorded globally in an urban area.[17] The quake struck on a busy weekday afternoon and resulted in the deaths of 181 people.[18] This event resulted in the declaration of New Zealand's first National State of Emergency. Many buildings and landmarks were severely damaged, including the iconic 'Shag Rock' and Christchurch Cathedral.
On 13 June 2011 Christchurch was again rocked by two more large aftershocks. A 5.6 at only 9km deep hit at 1.00pm in the general location of Sumner, Christchurch this was followed by another 6.3 at only 6km deep at 2.20pm again in the general location of Sumner, Christchurch. This resulted in more liquefaction and building damage, but no more lives were lost.[19]
