East takes the brunt, again
Liquefaction spewed out of the ground outside Danny Morris’ property on Broadhaven Ave, Parklands, after the earthquake.
Inside Morris’ home mirrors had fallen from walls and light shades had broken when they smashed together.
The damage was only superficial with no structural damage to the house, he said.
‘‘It [the earthquake] was grunty. It’s cool how they hit without warning. ‘‘I started going ‘yeehaw’.’’ Broadhaven Ave was badly affected by liquefaction in previous earthquakes and cars were swallowed up by sinkholes.
In Sunday, the liquefaction outside Morris’ home was the only real sign of the latest quake.
The Christchurch City Council said liquefaction in east Christchurch was mostly localised to Parklands.
Other affected streets included Hurst Place, Courtfield Close, Bower Ave and Linkwater Way.
People driving past offered to help Morris clean it up.
Morris, who worked as a concrete grinder, joked that he would have ‘‘a bit more work in the pipeline’’.
Tina Bell, 39, and her family had just left their home in Linkwater Way, Parklands, when the earthquake struck.
‘‘I thought my husband’s tyre had blown out and he said ‘no, it’s an earthquake’.’’
They returned to their home to find one side of their 20,000 litre pool, which sits above the ground in their backyard, had buckled.
Bell said she raced outside to switch off the power and the pool collapsed sending a wave of water through her house.
The carpets were soaked, she said. ‘‘I’m just glad my daughter wasn’t in there. It’s only a house.’’
Bell said the property was scheduled to be demolished and rebuilt.
Outside her home liquefaction had bubbled up through freshly laid asphalt and residents were busy with their spades and wheelbarrows cleaning up. ‘‘This is nothing,’’ Bell said. ‘‘The whole road exploded in the February and June [2011] ones.
‘‘This is just so typical of our neighbourhood. Everyone just gets out and helps.’’
Earthquake Commission chief executive Ian Simpson said geotechnical engineers were out on Sunday assessing damage. People had three months to make damage claims.