New Zealand paused for two minutes’ silence yesterday to mark the first anniversary of the devastating Christchurch earthquake, which left 185 people dead.
At 12:51pm, the moment the magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit New Zealand’s second-largest city, flattening office blocks and toppling buildings onto lunchtime crowds, the nation fell quiet to honor the dead.
About 60,000 people gathered for a solemn memorial at Christchurch’s Hagley Park, where families of the victims locked arms and bowed their heads.
Photo: Reuters
Some wept while others closed their eyes in prayer, with only the sound of a crying baby breaking the silence before 185 butterflies were released in a gesture organizers said symbolized departed souls and rebirth.
Ahead of the public memorial, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told a separate service for victims’ families held near the shattered city center that the earthquake was “one of our darkest days.”
Key said the earthquake “wreaked havoc on an unimaginable scale,” changing Christchurch forever.
Photo: Reuters
“It twisted buildings, tore up roads, destroyed homes and shook us to the core,” he told the multi-faith service. “Worst of all it stole 185 loved ones from us and injured so many more.”
Key recalled visiting Christchurch’s Latimer Square in the hours after the quake, as fires raged in collapsed buildings, choking dust filled the air, sirens blared and aftershocks continued to rattle the city.
“It was New Zealand, but not a New Zealand I’ve ever seen before ... the earthquake took everyday life in Canterbury and tossed it on its head, but it could not break the spirit you are famous for,” he said.
Key also acknowledged frustration among Christchurch residents at delays to a NZ$30 billion (US$25 billion) rebuilding program amid ongoing aftershocks, including major tremors in June and December which caused further damage.
“We have a long journey ahead of us,” he said, reiterating the government’s determination to rebuild the South Island city.
Underlining his words, a 2.9 magnitude aftershock, minor by Christchurch standards, struck about 10km off the coast near Christchurch about 20 minutes after the ceremony concluded.
Key also paid tribute to emergency workers from New Zealand and overseas for their efforts in responding to the disaster.
“Feb, 22 will forever be one of the darkest days in this proud nation’s history,” he said. “It will also be a day when, at the worst of all times, the best of the human spirit was on display. That spirit is something no earthquake can take away.”
At the Hagley Park service, Governor-General Jerry Mateparae read a message of condolence from British Prince Charles and a video address was played from US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who visited the city just before the quake.
“Even those of us who were far away on that terrible day share your grief and we know it’s been a struggle,” she said.
In Japan, a memorial service attended by about 150 people in black mourning attire was held at Toyama College of Foreign Languages, which lost 12 students in the quake.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese