Quake survivors: 'why we won't leave'

The rubble of the CTV Building in Christchurch where so many lost their lives. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It's true that time heals all wounds, but while the physical scars might be starting to fade the emotional toll will be forever etched into the consciousness of Cantabrians.

It's six months since a 6.3 earthquake shook the lives of residents in our second largest city and tore the heart out of Christchurch's CBD.

Thousands have left the region - more than 26,000 say reports - but plenty have resolved to stay.

And so, on the eve of the six month anniversary of that day, we return to the city where so many lost their lives.

On the flight down - a smattering of lights and then darkness. The February earthquake has cast a long shadow over Christchurch's once bustling, and now largely lifeless central business district.

It's a city now shrouded in snow, but for so many it is home.

In the eastern suburbs a man clears his driveway of snow. Only six months ago, it was watery silt that was brought to the surface.

In the city diggers cut tirelessly through the debris, flowers line the fence where the CTV building once stood, and homes sit awkwardly buckled on their foundations along the river Avon.

The eerie silence that has filled the central city in the months since February is only now broken by the sound of demolition crews working to clear the rubble.

Businesses are boarded up, many of Christchurch's collection of gothic style buildings have crumbled, and in some parts of the city cracks still adorn the roads.

For Cantabrians this is the new normal.

Anne Malcolm, who survived the collapse of the CTV building, says she feels at home in an 'odd sort of way'.

"This is where I absolutely belong. My friends are here, some of my family are here and I love Christchurch."

"There's a sense we're all in this together. We live with earthquakes. It's part of our lives now."

And so, despite the hardship, the heartbreak and the fear, there's a recognition that life must go on.

Clemency Mutze, who survived the collapse of the CTV building says she's become more proactive as a result of her experience and is in the throes of setting up her own business.

"I'm a completely different person to what I was before February 22. I know life is short, whereas before I felt really immortal."

Sue Spigel, who was pulled from the window of the Christchurch's Cathedral, says the earthquakes have helped her to focus on the important things in life.

"So often you just get so caught up in all the other stuff that is going on. This has given me a new lens to look at life through and I appreciate having that lens."