Infrastructure impact and recovery following the 2010–2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand

A destructive earthquake of 7·1 magnitude struck Christchurch, New Zealand in September 2010. A second, more violent and much more damaging earthquake with multiple fatalities occurred in February 2011, followed by a sequence of strong aftershocks centred around the city throughout 2011, 2012 and into 2013. This paper offers an insight into how the national, international and local agencies and, most importantly, communities came together to deal with this destructive sequence of events. It explores the impact of the events on the community and then the recovery planning for a wide range of essential infrastructure services and their effects on daily lives in a modern city with a population of some 350 000 people.