Christchurch earthquake: rebuilding a city

One year on from the devastating earthquake that destroyed much of Christchurch and left 185 people dead, the city is still working hard to repair the damage. It is estimated some 60% of the historic city centre was damaged by the quake on 22 February 2011.

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Since last February, Christchurch has suffered thousands of tremors and two further quakes in June and December, although none caused as much damage as the February earthquake, said to be the worst natural disaster in the country for 80 years.

Work has been continuing to get the city back on its feet. The business district is still sealed off to the public and is now a giant construction site. But gradually streets have been reopened as many of the damaged buildings have been demolished and areas cleared.

The city's landmark cathedral suffered severe damage in the February quake. Scaffolding was quickly erected to make the building safe but it took engineers some time to establish that parts of the building would need to be demolished and rebuilt.

All pictures supplied by Afp/Getty.