Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x24gv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-26T10:58:08.476Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The New Normal: Twelve Months of Resiliency and Recovery in Christchurch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2013

Graeme J. McColl  and
Frederick M. Burkle Jr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The series of earthquakes and aftershocks that have hit Christchurch, New Zealand, for more than one year has been severe and sustained, resulting in major damage to homes, buildings, essential services, and resources in water, sewerage, food, access to health care, energy for heating and cooling, and unprecedented challenges to resiliency. Large swathes of destroyed buildings, land damage, and liquefaction have made rebuilding impossible for many. Populations have moved or report that they either wish to or plan to do so. For those who remain, a ”new normal” mindset has taken hold and serves as an objective measure for the process that defines daily life and future decisions. The new normal serves as an uncomfortable but realistic guideline by which further resiliency can be measured. A number of factors have led to the development of the new normal state for the Christchurch earthquake survivors.

(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:33-43)

Keywords

earthquakesdisaster resiliencydisaster managementdisaster recoveryChristchurch earthquakesurge capacityresilienceNew Zealandurban healthcommunity disaster responseemergency medical services
Type
From the Field
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 33 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Anderson, V.Earthquake fatigue. The Press. April 20, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/4911084/Earthquake-fatigue. Accessed August 12, 2011.Google Scholar
2.Stroud, C, Altevogt, BM, Goldfrank, LR.Institute of Medicine's Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events: current initiatives. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2010;4 (2):174–177.Google Scholar
3.Burkle, FM Jr, Greenough, PG.Impact of public health emergencies on modern disaster taxonomy, planning, and response. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2008;2 (3):192–199.Google Scholar
4.Ghobart, RM, Huth, P, Russett, B.Civil wars kill and maim people—long after the shooting stops. Am Polit Sci Rev. 2003;97 (2):189–202.Google Scholar
5.Canterbury Quake Live. Christchurch, New Zealand. http://quake.crowe.co.nz/. Accessed September 4, 2011.Google Scholar
6.The Canterbury Earthquakes. Answers to critical questions about buildings. Royal Society of New Zealand and the Office of the Prime Minister's Science Advisory Committee; 2011. http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenz/forms/pdfs/ChChFactSheets-Answers-critical-questions-buildings.pdf. Accessed August 14, 2011.Google Scholar
7.Global Disaster Watch. Sunday, February 27, 2011. http://globaldisasterwatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/sunday-february-27-2011.html. Accessed July 2, 2011.Google Scholar
8.Earthquake liquefaction. ScienceDaily.com http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/e/earthquake_liquefaction.htm. Accessed July 3, 2011.Google Scholar
9.Liquefaction. Wellington, New Zealand: Institute of Professional Engineers of New Zealand; March 4, 2011. http://www.ipenz.org.nz/ipenz/forms/pdfs/ChChFactSheets-Liquefaction.pdf. Accessed July 1, 2011.Google Scholar
10.Scientists find rare mix of factors exacerbated the Christchurch quake. GNS Science. March 17, 2011, 12.30 PM. http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/News-and-Events/Media-Releases/Multiple-factors. Accessed May 14, 2011.Google Scholar
11.Gorman, P.Christchurch bounced during deadly earthquake. The Press. March 17, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/4779330/Christchurch-bounced-during-deadly-earthquake. Accessed June 29, 2011.Google Scholar
12.M6.3, Christchurch. GeoNet. February 22, 2011. http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/historic-earthquakes/top-nz/quake-14.html. Accessed June 29, 2011.Google Scholar
13.Reyners, M.The energy of the Christchurch earthquake and the slapdown effect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaA1nxYVi6k. Accessed July 23, 2011.Google Scholar
14.Office of the Prime Minister's Science Advisory Committee. The Canterbury Earthquakes: Scientific Answers. Wellington, New Zealand: The Royal Society of New Zealand. http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1103/InformationpapertheCanterburyearthquakes.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2011.Google Scholar
15.Geologists arrive to study liquefaction. NZ News. September 10, 2010. 10:47 PM. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/geologists-arrive-study-liquefaction-3772887. Accessed July 12, 2011.Google Scholar
16.Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Team. Media Release. Christchurch, New Zealand: Water Infrastructure Group; May 6, 2011. http://wigroup.com.au/public/news/Christchurch_Earthquake_(May11).pdf. Accessed July 24, 2011.Google Scholar
17.Wright, M.Melting snow next test for stormwater system. The Press. February 22, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5350522/Melting-snow-next-test-for-stormwater-system. Accessed August 4, 2011.Google Scholar
18.Earthquake, C.Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council. Christchurch–two months on. April 21, 2011. http://canterburyearthquake.org.nz/2011/04/21/christchurch-%E2%80%93-two-months-on/. Accessed July 25, 2011.Google Scholar
19.John Keys statement on the Christchurch Earthquake. RebuildChristchurch Web site; Wednesday March 9, 2011, 12:51 pm. http://www.rebuildchristchurch.co.nz/blog/2011/3/john-keys-statement-on-the-christchurch-earthquake. Accessed April 29, 2011.Google Scholar
20.Conway, G.Christchurch earthquake: rebuild could cost $30b. The Press. February 22, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/4755505/Christchurch-earthquake-Rebuild-could-cost-30b. Accessed July 29, 2011.Google Scholar
21.Residential red zone fact sheet. Thursday, 23 June, 2011 - 14:56 Voxy.com.nz. http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/residential-red-zone-fact-sheet/5/92983.Google Scholar
22.Stewart, T.Christchurch rebuild predicted to run 15 years. The Press. August 31, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5536001/Christchurch-rebuild-predicted-to-run-15-years. Accessed August 30, 2011.Google Scholar
23.Brownlee, J.Special feature: Canterbury earthquakes recovery. June 13, 2011. Beehive.gov.nz. http://www.beehive.govt.nz/feature/special-feature-canterbury-earthquakes-recovery.Google Scholar
24.Heather, B.Kaiapoi orange-zone residents have three-week wait for news of land. The Press. February 22, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5363202/Kaiapoi-orange-zone-residents-have-three-week-wait-for-news-of-land. Accessed July 12, 2011.Google Scholar
25.Engineers dispute estimate. Christchurch Earthquake. The Press. Updated August 12, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5433079/Engineers-dispute-estimate. Accessed August 14, 2011.Google Scholar
26.Sachdeva, S.Christchurch rebuild plan “pretty big wish list.” Christchurch Earthquake. The Press. Updated August 12, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5433047/Christchurch-rebuild-plan-pretty-big-wish-list. Accessed August 14, 2011.Google Scholar
27.van Beyen, M.Fantastic staff coped with the chaos; fault lines, Christchurch earthquake. The Press. September 3, 2011:3.Google Scholar
28. McColl, G.Health Update. Oral report to the Ministry of Health, Christchurch, NZ. July 10, 2011.Google Scholar
29.Canterbury Earthquake Key public health messages: Sunday, February 27, 2011. Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council. http://canterburyearthquake.org.nz/2011/02/27/key-public-health-messages-sunday-27-february-2011/. Accessed July 3, 2011.Google Scholar
30.Gutschlag, T, Ward, S Canterbury District Health Board Allied Health Management Report to the Canterbury District Health Board; September 9, 2011.Google Scholar
31.Canterbury District Health Board. Christchurch Earthquake Updates. HEALTHFIRST Web site. http://www.cdhb.govt.nz/communications/earthquake. Accessed May 4, 2011.Google Scholar
32.Quake dust blamed for air pollution. Christchurch Earthquake. The Press. February 22, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5371562/Quake-dust-blamed-for-air-pollution. Accessed July 3, 2011.Google Scholar
33.Cooke, M.Thousands plan to leave Christchurch—poll: Christchurch earthquake. The Press. February 22, 2011. stuff.co.nz. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5233155/Thousands-plan-to-leave-Christchurch-poll. Accessed July 2, 2011.Google Scholar
34.Sachdeva, S.Puzzle of voter figures clarified. The Press. April 8, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/5384891/Puzzle-of-voter-figures-clarified. Accessed July 2, 2011.Google Scholar
35.Powerful earthquakes rock Christchurch. Christchurch Earthquake Community J. June 13, 2011. http://www.chcheqjournal.com/2011/powerful-earthquakes-rock-christchurch. Accessed July 15, 2011.Google Scholar
36.Christchurch Earthquake—A first hand account. PlanetPOV. February 28, 2011. http://planetpov.com/2011/02/28/christchurch-earthquake-a-first-hand-account. Accessed July 15, 2011.Google Scholar
37.Recovering and Looking to the Future. Pamphlet 5. 1 and 5.2. Canterbury, NZ: Canterbury District Health Board. July 7, 2011.Google Scholar
38.Van Den Bergh, R.Christchurch earthquake set to hit premiums. Business Day. stuff.co.nz. May 3, 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/4734330/Christchurch-earthquake-set-to-hit-premiums. Accessed August 12, 2011.Google Scholar
39.Greer, L.Extreme weather the new norm? AreaWideNews. Thursday, June 2, 2011. http://www.areawidenews.com/story/1733002.html. Accessed July 12, 2011.Google Scholar
40.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellite and Information Service. Billion Dollar U.S. Weather/Climate Disasters Narrative Map 1980-2010. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/reports/billionz.html#narrative. Accessed February 8, 2012.Google Scholar
41.Federal Emergency Management Agency. Strengthening Disaster Recovery for the Nation. Video teleconference. Region II. New York, NY: Federal Emergency Management Agency; October 29, 2009. http://www.disasterrecoveryworkinggroup.gov/outreach/regionII-vtc-102909.pdf. Accessed July 1, 2011.Google Scholar
42.Bolin, R.Disasters and long-term recovery policy: a focus on housing and families. Rev Policy Res. 1985;4 (4):709–715.Google Scholar
43.Kamel, N.Lessons for long-term residential recovery: factors of community resilience and marginalization. J Disaster Res. 2010;5 (2):147–154.Google Scholar
44.Comerio, MC.Housing after disasters. J Contingencies Crisis Manage. 1997;5 (3):166–178.Google Scholar
45.Levine, JN, Esnard, A-M, Sapat, A.Population displacement and housing dilemmas due to catastrophic disasters. J Plann Lit. 2007;22 (1):3–15.Google Scholar
46.Dillon, RL, Tinsley, CH, Cronin, M.Why near-miss events can decrease an individual's protective response to hurricanes. Risk Anal. 2011;31 (3):440–449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
47.Esnard, A-M.Beyond semantics and the immediate post-disaster period: community quality of life as an overarching theme for sustaining collective action. Nat Hazards Rev. 2003;4 (3):159–165.Google Scholar
48.Quigley, B.Katrina Pain Index 2010 New Orleans–five years later. Center for Constitutional Rights, New Orleans, LA. HUFFPOST Aol.News. June 8, 2011, 11:57 AM ET. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-quigley/katrina-pain-index-2010-n_b_673383.html. Accessed June 21, 2011.Google Scholar
49.Pettinga, J.Regaining solid ground: land, buildings and people. In: Proceedings of The Inaugural University of Canterbury Earthquake Forum. Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand, September 2, 2011.Google Scholar