I had thought that accommodation in Chch would be plentiful, as most people were getting out of Dodge. An article in the local paper agreed, that the number of beds was down about 18%. However, the number of beds available was down 70% so the occupancy rate for those still operating was near capacity. After all, most of the big hotels in the CBD were either condemned, or at the very least in the no-go zone, so inaccessible.
Driving out in the daylight, one of the things I most noticed was the almost complete lack of chimneys. Many houses had bits boarded over, and rooves were patched showing where chimneys had once been. Other places had a metal flue in place of the ex-chimney - less likely to cause damage in the case of another big jolt.
As we made our way out to Sumner where my cousin lives, we saw (and drove along) some of the damage. A few buildings that had clearly been condemned, others already raised. We saw the houses hanging off the freshly carved cliffs which had given way in one or other of the quakes. We drove past double-stacked shipping containers which were serving as rockfall barricades along the road, at the base of the clearly unstable cliff faces. We saw devastated churches, closed schools, irreparably damaged libraries, shops that would never open again. And portaloos on many street corners.
It seemed a bit ghoulish to stop and take photos, so here are some others took.
Kamala explained those: while most places had water and sewerage at present, if there was another aftershock that disrupted the water supply (as the June 13 one had done for a week, for example), then having the loos in place was essential. With no running water, you have no sewerage, and only certain areas had the means to deal with the effluent from chemical toilets.
On the other hand, for much of the place, it seemed business as usual. Even in areas clearly affected, where shops could open, they were, and people were getting on with their lives. Life goes on.
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