Charlie Eadie Travels to New Zealand to Aid in Disaster Planning

Charlie Eadie spent a week in Christchurch, New Zealand, this August where he volunteered his time and services as a member of an international team invited there to help sort out, evaluate, and strategize about the next steps in their earthquake recovery efforts.

Christchurch was hit hard by an unusual series of four earthquake/aftershock events (Sept. 2010, Feb., April, June 2011), resulting in 181 deaths and substantial damage throughout the city. Most devastating was the nearly 120 deaths in February that happened in the collapse of one relatively new building in the central business district, after it had been cleared for re-occupancy. Since that time the central business district has been completely cordoned off, and issues of business resumption and recovery, historic and community character, safety, and long-term economic viability and competitiveness are paramount.

The invited team shared a range of experiences with recovery planning, and with many similarities between Santa Cruz and Christchurch, there was keen interest in understanding the planning and community engagement process of Vision Santa Cruz following the 1989 earthquake here, which Charlie spearheaded.

The seven team members each delivered two public presentations at a conference at the University of Canterbury, interspersed with individual and small group sessions with representatives of the City of Christchurch, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, and with community and private sector leaders.

Reflecting on the intensity of the work and the team’s 16-hour days of immersion and interaction, Charlie notes:
“The Christchurch community is running at the frantic pace of the first year of recovery, and wanted to take stock of where they are and see if there are lessons from our experiences that would translate to their situation. Recovery starts as a sprint and ends as a marathon, and they are at a critical moment where decisions to be made now will have lasting effects on the short and long-term success of the recovery. It was a humbling honor and privilege to be there to support their efforts and offer encouragement amidst their trauma.”

Team members included Sir Richard Leese, of Manchester, England, who oversaw recovery of that city following IRA bombings in 1996; Douglas Ahlers of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, who has done extensive research in disaster recovery and continues to be directly involved in New Orleans; Kerry O’Neill of Australia who worked with the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority in the social planning efforts for recovery of small towns and the region following the 700 fires in 2009; Kit Miyomoto, an internationally known structural engineer who specializes in advanced and cost-effective performance engineering for retrofit and repair of structures, and who has extensive experience in Haiti and Japan; David Lindsay, the Deputy Minister of Energy and Infrastructure in Ontario, who oversaw a major waterfront restoration project in Toronto; Suzanna Penbroke, a cultural heritage consultant from London, and Sam Martin, an urban landscape design specialist based in London, who is now returning to work in his native Christchurch.