Post Quake Infrastructure in Christchurch

Image: Greg O'Bierne - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gobeirne/5472154537/

Christchurch (in New Zealand) infrastructure was instantaneoulsy reconfigured last week when a terrible earthquake struck the city.The stretching of place enabled by all the networks of road, phone and internet were nearly completely broken. Cell phone coverage was intermittent as many transmission towers were damaged. A strange hybrid communication network was in place: people immediately adjacent to you in space were now your closest connections, where they would have been strangers pre-earthquake. At the same time, those very distant who could be texted or tweeted were close. It was the relationships with those that were more than several blocks away and without cell phones (often people one would communicate several times in a day - family and friends) that people were cut off from. Neighbourhood bonds are now stronger everywhere, but so are virtual bonds. People added their names to a twitter thread 'safe@christchurch' and updated their status on facebook. One Japanese student trapped in a collapsed building texted his family in Japan, who then told New Zealand search & rescue teams where to find him in the rubble. Armies of student volunteers are being organised with incredibly sophisticated online systems - these systems are truly impressive.

People who happened to have artesian wells on their suburban properties are giving out free water. These sites with wells are the new 'town centres', replacing the shops and civic buildings that are crushed or closed, with no supplies.
People who have supplies of food or clothes drop these off at the houses with wells, turning them onto distribution sites. People talk to each other and make friends while they stand in line for the water. The most basic of infrastructures, together with the most sophisticated are reconfiguring the damaged city.