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Christchurch rebuilding a year after devastating quake
One year on from the massive earthquake that shook New Zealand the capital struggles to rebuild
Earthquake damage (top) is seen at the Christchurch Cathedral Citizens War Memorial, seven months after the earthquake hit and in the same location ahead of the one year anniversary
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, the South Island’s largest city, on February 22, 2011
The earthquake killed 185 people and severely damaged the city and surrounding suburbs
Collapsed buildings in Manchester Street on February 22, 2011 (top) are compared to the same location ahead of the one year earthquake anniversary (bottom)
Around 10,000 aftershocks have been recorded since September 2010, which have continued to hamper reconstruction efforts
New Zealand is expected to spend up to NZ$3.5bn ($24.5bn) rebuilding over 100,000 construction sites in the next two to three years
The restoration will be the country’s largest construction effort in its history
More than 60 percent of the old buildings that defined Christchurch were lost and many more are severely damaged and need expensive reinforcement
