We ventured into South City yesterday so that I could have a hair cut. South City is in the CBD just outside the cordoned off area, otherwise known as the red zone. I’ve never seen this part of town so quiet.
My hair-dresser has been busy she says but one thing is new: most of her clients are not wanting their hair blown dry. She suspects this is because they just want to get the hell out of the shopping mall before another aftershock strikes. I confess I felt a little the same.
Across the road from the mall is the Smiths City car park. Ever since I moved to NZ almost 6 years ago, I have tried to avoid multi-storey car parks for fear of earthquakes. The Smiths City car park pancaked during the February 22nd earthquake and realised my worst fears. Prior to this, I was able to laugh at my paranoia. But no more. Photo: (courtesy of http://www.nzraw.co.nz). Here’s a pic of the carpark. As you can see the levels have collapsed onto each other.
Driving home from South City we went north towards the cordon which is currently at St Asaph St. Here’s a building on the corner of Colombo and St Asaph.
The Knox Church on Bealey Ave:
The Carlton Hotel on the corner of Bealey Ave and Papanui Road:
We took these photos yesterday and I’ve since heard that the hotel is down for urgent demolition as they fear it will collapse onto the busy intersection. It may have gone already.
So the Wiggles concert is next weekend and we have tickets. To Wiggle or not to Wiggle, that is the question. I was hoping they might cancel the show so we could get our money back but sadly they’re still coming. The concert is at the
CBS Arena which has a green sticker and so is safe to use. I might see whether I can find out what sort of roof it has. If it’s a steel roof, I think I can brave it.
rachel.blog 
Reblogged this on RachelSquirrel and commented:
I thought I’d take part in the first post challenge which is doing the rounds in the blogosphere. Thanks, Geoff, for pointing it out. The idea is to link back to your very first post and explain why you wrote it and why you started a blog.
I starting blogging because of the Christchurch earthquakes and so most of my early posts were about living in Christchurch and dealing with my anxiety. Blogging was very therapeutic for me and helped me to cope during this time. Thank you, WordPress.com!
My very first post was about getting my hair cut in Christchurch and how the earthquakes had changed the experience, not just for me, but also for others.
I’m happy to say I no longer feel anxious about earthquakes and getting my hair cut is a very relaxing experience. Living in Scotland probably helps 🙂
Devastating photos and makes you realise how flimsy our constructions are. It must have been really awful to experience those earthquakes. Yep, Aberdeen seems much safer!
Yes, and they all comfort themselves in other parts of NZ by saying how good the construction is! It’s just not true at all.
Well exactly.
I’m glad you’ve got over your earthquake anxiety. That must have been a big thing to overcome. I think you dealt with it really well.
Me too! It’s not fun living in fear and feeling like you’ve lost your home. While what I went through is nothing compared with what the people in Syria are dealing with, I feel as though I understand better what it must be like to be a refugee.