Christchurch Earthquake Damage

As you may already know, Christchurch was hit by two large earthquakes about a week apart from each other. Now, a little over a year and a half later, much of the city center is still in the process of being torn down before reconstruction can begin in those areas. It is strange to see tall cranes in the city skyline being used to move around rubble rather than being used for construction. On almost every major street there is at least one building that has been condemned due to earthquake damage. Even after most of the streets had been repaired, it is still very moving to see after all this time. Both the Canterbury Museum here in town and the Te Papa Museum in Wellington have large earthquake exhibits so you can see the extent of the destruction before the reconstruction effort began.

The roof on the ground in these pictures is from the building in the background of the right picture.

The roads in the surrounding areas that have been repaired or are under construction create a bit of a maze at times. Some streets through downtown are open but many side streets are closed. The other day I was trying to find the bank and was told by my GPS to turn right when there was a 'no right turn' sign. Recalculating... After some rerouting, I arrived at my destination only to find that the building I arrived at is now a Japanese restaurant. The next branch I tried to find had also moved but had a poster with an up-to-date map and addresses of nearby branches. A number of restaurants and attractions have been closed as well, including the main art gallery.
  

The state of a modern city being half repaired and half demolished has left quite an impression on me. I have always heard of major disasters around the world and have seen footage of the destruction. The news runs headline stories for the next week or so about acts of heroism and courage. But it feels like you never see many follow-up stories unless there is some controversy. It makes me wonder how the people in Japan, Indonesia, Haiti, and those that have suffered from Hurricane Katrina are managing after the global attention has moved on.
 

If you have been a part of a major natural disaster I would like to hear in a comment below about the rebuilding process and about how long it took before things were (as much as they could be) back to 'normal'.