Christchurch, NZ: A City in Ruins

Yesterday, the 22nd of February 2011, a large 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch is the second largest city in New Zealand. The buildings and streets of Christchurch had the feel of a lovely, picturesque 'Kiwi' country town, much of which has been destroyed by the recent earthquake. The streets are frighteningly different today, seen in the ruins of what is left of many of the once beautiful buildings of Christchurch.

Returning to Ruins: The Carmel Disaster

Something that has been at the fore of the news in the past few days in Israel, has been the fire up in the Carmel. The largest bushfire in the country's history. It has left many houses in ruin.


These ruins fit with our 'Ruins Criteria':

1) the buildings are man made structures

2) the buildings were built as permanent structures

3) the building envelope is now no longer complete

4) the building appears different than how it was intended (yet enough remains to give an impression of the original structure)

5) nature has clearly encroached upon the structure

6) no significant human intervention/conservation has yet taken place upon the ruins

The images of the ashen ruins below are from Kibbutz Beit Oren and from the Children's Village of Yemin-Orde.

Fresh Ruins: The Carmel

The last few days in Israel have seen a terrible natural disaster - a forest fire near Haifa that has only now, four days later, come under control. The fire has devastated several local settlements and left ruins in its wake. It's a stark reminder that ruins often begin under terrible circumstances. Here are some pictures by Tal Cohen, Flash 90 and Yaron Kemenitsky.