Last February, Christchurch was hit by a rather major earthquake. It was actually the second of two major quakes to hit the city – the first one had been in the September of the previous year, and between the two of them the center of the city had been nearly leveled to the ground. The few remaining buildings were deemed unsafe to habitation and closed off. In fact, the entire city center itself was closed off from entry, due to safety concerns… that an the insane amount of looters working their way through the shops of the city center.

To keep the damaged center of the city cordoned off, a whole system of fences, gates, and infra-red sensors were installed around the perimeter of the zone, with the New Zealand National Guard stationed at the main gates. Yep… full National Guard units deployed to keep people out. People like me unfortunately, as I found out when I tried to get in with my usual “Hey, I’m a photographer with Northeastern University!” line. Fortunately I was able to bike around the outskirts for a while, checking everything out and taking photo’s of the damage and some of the artwork done around the damaged buildings.

Also note: some of the full walls are, obviously, knitted together by me.  I apologize for the crudeness and lack of color-correction – if anyone wants to have a go at fixing it, I would be much appreciative, and will re-post them with full recognition of whomever fixed it up.  Thanks in advance!