Immediately after the February 2011 earthquake, the army moved into Christchurch CBD to keep people out. Fences went up around the four avenues which border the city and the only people allowed in and out were engineers, police or others working on damaged buildings. Not many people continued to live there as there was no water or electricity. Soldiers were at the entrances to the CBD in many places 24 hours a day for 859 days. Only official cars and people with the right ID could enter.
The area that was closed gradually became smaller over the last two years and four months. Fences moved in closer to the centre. First one road opened through the city, then another and then another. Now most roads are partly open but road works continue. Most of the road work is under the road, fixing pipes.
Today, fences came down around most of the city. This is because dangerous buildings have gone: they have been demolished. Instead there is empty land. It is hard to remember what was there before the earthquake. It is a strange feeling walking around a mostly empty city.
Vocabulary
• CBD – central business district
• avenue – a wide road with tress in the centre
• border – around
• ID – identification, a piece of paper giving name and reason for entering the city
• gradually – slowly