The first series of photos taken on Saturday April 9th, 2011, following the deadly Feb 22nd earthquake.  Photos by head weather analyst Philip Duncan.

The power of mother nature rips this parking metre up.

Some parts of the city are alive with action – as demolition crews work their way through the damaged buildings.

No way in – at every single entrance point into the CBD you’ll find at least two soldiers keeping guard 24/7.

The beauty of Autumn in front of the horror of nature.

Army vehicles can be seen all over the city.

The Garden City looks more like a war zone.

At one of the security checkpoints a soldier appears to be writing a letter as another long day of ensuring the public don’t access the red zone arrives.

A tow truck went by with this vehicle on it… was quite a surreal moment.

Several cars on tow trucks went by – this one clearly had been up to the bonnet in liquefaction.

All lights are orange – the traffic lights all around the CBD flash orange with so many roads remaining closed.

It looks more like a third world country than somewhere in New Zealand, let along the CBD of Christchurch.

Many buildings looked absolutely fine – until you look at them close up. 

It’s a bit hard to see, but this carpark – like ALL paved areas in the city – is all bumpy from liquefaction.  While it doesn’t look significant, driving on it is another thing.  Most roads around the city and neighbouring suburbs are tricky to drive over 30km/h on due to the bumpy nature, caused by liquefaction.  In some areas springs have surfaced and water still bubbles out.

Quite undignified – shops and apartments appear naked to the outside world.

Time to reflect – on my tour of the city people stopped in silence to take photos and to view the damage.

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Click Here to see the second series of photos (a further 28 pictures)