Editorial: Pause for the day a nation stopped | Manawatu-Wanganui Opinion | Local Voices from Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

Today marks a year since New Zealand stopped.

It stopped at 12.51pm on February 22, 2011, when Christchurch was hit by a devastating magnitude-6.3 earthquake.

The tremor destroyed buildings, ravaged the Canterbury landscape, and ripped families apart.

For the residents of Christchurch, already left reeling from a damaging earthquake in September 2010, life as they knew it stopped.

Across New Zealand, workplaces also stopped, as news began to filter out of Canterbury and people crammed around the closest TV sets. Those with friends and family in Christchurch made frantic phone calls, hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.

The sad reality of that day has been well traversed in the year that has passed since.

In all, 185 people lost their lives, but in an ugly irony, the toll on Christchurch was not just a human toll.

When Mother Nature sought to vent her fury, she chose a city known for its historic buildings - the Christchurch Cathedral, countless other churches, and the historic Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings were all left damaged.

The events of February 22 changed this country's consciousness - companies all of a sudden are checking buildings to ensure they meet earthquake safety standards, and there's no shortage of people who flinch and pause for just a second, every time a heavy truck goes past.

Words like "liquefaction" have taken their place in the modern lexicon.

The earthquakes were Canterbury's tragedy, but they were also New Zealand's tragedy.

There was barely a person who did not know someone in Christchurch. Even those who didn't, knew of The Garden City, and couldn't help but be moved by the sight of the city's buildings and landmarks reduced to piles of broken bricks and rubble.

New Zealanders pulled together - fundraisers were launched, with organisers struggling to cope with the vast number of donations.

Of course, there's still a long way to go, particularly for the people of Christchurch who are still rattled daily by aftershocks, and who face months if not years of uncertainty.

There have been the controversies around the response effort by central and local government, as people express their frustration over the rebuild.

But today is again a day for New Zealand to stop.

This time it's to stop for remembrance, to take a moment to pause and reflect on the tragic events of February 22, and all that has occurred since.

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