Prayers for Christchurch

February 22 was the second anniversary of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake under the central business district and outlying areas of Christchurch, which is located about the middle of the east coast of the South Island.

We are about 5 hours drive from Christchurch, but Westport gets the Christchurch newspaper, so this Friday we got our first real impressions of the disaster, which hit near the end of a busy lunch hour, claimed 185 lives, and changed the face of the nation's second most populated city. Above are a couple of pictures from that day in 2011.

"The Press" newspaper said this:

            Two years ago, black, choking smoke rose from the collapsed CTV building in 
            Madras St, the Stonehurst backpackers in Gloucester St looked as though the earth 
            had opened under it, and the flattened Christchurch Club in Worcester St showed 
            nature had no respect for money. Down each street were smashed cars, fallen 
            facades and rubble scattered on the tarseal.

            The eerie sound of sirens, the clatter of helicopters and sometimes the sound of 
             weeping drifted over the chaos. It seemed thousands had perished or been badly 
             injured.

The city is beginning to heal, but not without a lot of emotional pain, frustration over the slow pace of repairs, and controversy about the way money is being spent or not spent. Editorials in the newspaper alongside coverage of memorial events made moving please for the region to resist becoming defined by the disaster alone. It seems clear that even when the reconstruction dust finally settles, the people of Christchurch will need prayers for God's peace.