Fragments

Fragments

The February 2011 earthquake turned Canterbury upside down. We hear from the people who lived through that traumatic, life-changing day and what's happened in the decade since.

Episodes

February 11, 2021 5 mins

In less than a minute, Christchurch and its people will be changed forever.

"I thought, 'we're going to die, let's die together'."

At 12.51 pm on February 22, 2011 a 6.3 earthquake shook Christchurch.

185 people died.

Thousands were injured.

Everyone who was in Christchurch that day has a story to tell. Some have probably told their stories many times.

In Fragments: First-hand accounts of the February 2011 ...

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A 6.3 aftershock surges out from near Lyttelton, across the Port Hills and into the surrounding suburbs.

Watch a video interview from the episode here

As a 6.3 aftershock surges out from near Lyttelton, across the Port Hills and into the surrounding suburbs, a jogger tries to outrun boulders falling all around her on a hillside track; a team races to protect people on the Port Hills gondola; a journalist travels from Lyttleton to the...

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February 23, 2021 70 mins

Trapped survivors wait while emergency staff and passersby begin an extraordinary rescue.

Watch a video interview from the episode here

Inside a collapsed building people with life- changing injuries wait hours to be freed while outside emergency services, builders, crane operators and a schoolteacher begin a grueling rescue operation.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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February 25, 2021 69 mins

One man struggles to free others trapped in Cashel Mall; a policeman risks his life to rescue a woman trapped in the Cathedral Tower; a junior reporter survives the near collapse of her building to report from the CBD; a tour operator becomes an unofficial ambulance driver and a quick-thinking police officer holds an impromptu riverside Court session.

Watch a video interview from the episode here

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for ...

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February 28, 2021 72 mins

Inside and outside the worst disaster site.

Watch a video interview from the episode here

One woman's impulse to run saves her life; roofers, carpenters and office workers are first on the scene to help people trapped inside; a husband stands outside the collapsed building for more than a day waiting for news of his trapped wife; emergency services take charge; victims are recovered and returned to their families.

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March 2, 2021 69 mins

Through liquefaction, over rubble and around broken buildings, survivors escape the city while others journey in to search for loved ones.

Watch a video interview from the episode here

People stranded in the Forsyth Barr building must abseil to safety; a parent journeys on foot into the CBD to locate her young daughter while another walks for kilometres to find her son; a bus driver struggles through liquefaction and aftershocks to d...

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March 4, 2021 63 mins

Strangers come together to save others in one of the worst hit areas in the city.

Watch a video interview from the episode here

Staff and parents deal with wet, shocked children at QEII Park; a good neighbour suffers a life-changing accident; a maternity nurse saves a badly injured man; a wife waits for news of her missing husband; a St John ambulance officer deals with impossible conditions and a journalist on maternity leave finds ...

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