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The Influence of the Christchurch Earthquake on Nz’s Culture and Identity

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The Influence of the Christchurch Earthquake on Nz’s Culture and Identity
The Influence of the Christchurch Earthquake on NZ’s Culture and Identity

Introduction

When talking about New Zealand events, the Christchurch earthquake that happened approximately a year ago came to me first. It is not an event, precisely, it is a disaster that shocked people’s home, broke people’s heart and even took away their lives. However, a disaster does not only affect individuals, but also the whole society. Thus, this essay will discuss the influence that the Christchurch earthquake has on New Zealand’s culture and identity, two social theories that can explain the Christchurch earthquake. one is collectivism and individualism and the other one is ethnography and ethnocentrism. Also the author will make a comparison between Japan’s 311 Earthquake in 2011 and Sichuan earthquake in China in 2008.

In addition to the research, I interviewed two people. One is 23-year-old female, Lauren, who’s born in Christchurch and now worked in Auckland; the other one is Ian, who is a 67-year-old male living in Auckland. Each of them has completed a questionnaire contains 9 questions, regarding the influence of the earthquake on both themselves and the New Zealand society.

Early in September 2010, Christchurch had a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0, an epicenter at 55km (35 miles) north-west of Christchurch and a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles) (“Strong earthquake rocks New Zealand 's South Island”, 2010). Right when people think there wouldn’t be a severe aftershock, on February 22th, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch at 12:51 midnight, killing 185 people. The magnitude is not as high as the last one but the power went right towards Christchurch city centre, causing direct damage. After that, rescue and rebuilding have been conducted under the threat of over 7000 aftershocks (“Ask an Expert: why so many aftershocks?”, 2011). Emergency response from both the government and society are quick, with rescue teams, corresponding policies and


References: Ask an Expert: why so many aftershocks?. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/quake-science/5175031/Ask-an-Expert-why-so-many-aftershocks Christchurch draft rebuild plan revealed. Retrieved from http://www.3news.co.nz/Christchurch-draft-rebuild-plan-revealed/tabid/423/articleID/221839/Default.aspx Nationalism. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nationalism/ Population. Retrieved from http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/nzealand/population.html Strong earthquake rocks New Zealand 's South Island. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11183685 Sociology. Retrieved from http://www.webref.org/sociology/sociology.htm Simpson, E. (2008). The rise and fall of collective publicaction in the aftermath of theGujarat Earthquake of 2001. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/23567786/4/Social-Theory-and-the-Earthquake
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