It is surprising that Christchurch is still having after-shocks. It is now 4 months since the 7.1 earthquake on Sept 4th. Just as Christchurch people were starting to think that after-shocks had finished, the day after Christmas gave everyone an unpleasant surprise. There were about 20 shocks that day; the biggest one at 10.30 in the morning was 4.9 and right under the city. It caused a lot more damage to the central city. After-shocks are still continuing although not so big and not so often.
The mayor had hoped that all roads would be open again by the end of this month and all damaged buildings fenced off or repaired but that will not be possible. Some shops that were not damaged in September, were damaged on December 26th. Some may have to be demolished.
More people have made claims to the Earthquake Commission for damage to their homes in the last two weeks. This brings the total of damaged homes to 152,000. Some of these homes are badly damaged while others just have broken chimneys. EQC has inspected and paid out for more than 70,000 claims but another 90,000 are waiting for an inspection. EQC had hoped to have all these claims finished by the end of March but that is not possible now.
Questions
Will the central city survive or will people shop in the suburbs instead? What can be done to bring people back into the city?