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Christchurch
Recounting the Cost
On September 4th 2010 New Zealand suffered its largest
earthquake event (in terms of insured loss) in the history
of the nation. About six months later on February 22nd
2011 New Zealand suffered its biggest earthquake
superseding that of September 4th, which caused current
estimates of $NZ 20 billion worth of damage and killed
185 people.
In the months following the initial earthquake on
September 4th until the writing of this review in 2012,
the Canterbury region was rocked by over 10,000
aftershocks. Huge and devastating quakes were felt, not
only in September and February, but also in June 2011
and December 2011, just three days before Christmas.
The billions of reinsurance being paid
into Canterbury comes from insured
people and insurance companies around
the world. This is new money into our
economy and will be needed by Kiwis to
get back on their feet.
The scale of devastation wreaked by the series of
earthquakes is almost impossible to totally grasp. The
most basic of statistics gives some idea of what insurers
and all recovery agencies were required to deal with:
• 185 people died
• more than 100,000 homes (or approximately half of
the housing stock of greater Christchurch) damaged
• 7,000 homes totally destroyed and Red Zoned, with
the government offering to purchase these properties
• more than 3,000 of the 5,000 businesses in the CBD
displaced
• more than 1,400 demolitions of buildings in the CBD
• 124 kilometres of water mains damaged
• 300 kilometres of sewer pipes damaged
• over 7,000 of the 12,000 Canterbury District Health
Board rooms damaged
• 106 hospital beds at the Christchurch Hospital closed
• 635 rest home beds lost
• 19 community pharmacies lost
• 5 general practices lost or damaged
• more than 50% of the residential roading network
requiring replacement or repair
11
• 12 schools, or parts of schools, relocated
• over 1,600 projects listed in the draft central city
plan requiring some form of capital for repair or
rebuilding.
Every part of the Canterbury community was affected.
Housing, education, health, sports, culture and
infrastructure all require major efforts to return to the
levels of service and activity that existed before the
earthquake. Among businesses, tourism, international
Top ten insurance loss events in 2011
Estimated losses in $USD
Earthquake Japan 35.00 billion
Earthquake New Zealand, 22 February 2011 13.50 billion
Flooding Thailand 10.78 billion
Severe Weather U.S. Southeast, Plains, Mid West 7.30 billion
Severe Weather U.S. Plains, Mid West, Southeast 6.75 billion
Severe Weather Hurricane Irene 5.00 billion
Flooding Australia 2.42 billion
Severe Weather U.S. Southeast, Plains, Mid West 2.00 billion
Earthquake New Zealand, 22 December 2011 1.80 billion
Severe Weather U.S. Plains, Mid West, Southeast 1.70 billion
Canterbury’s first earthquake of 4 September 2010 was a
globally significant loss event in its own right.
Earthquake New Zealand, 04 September 2010 4.00 billion