Earthquake
So, there's been a big earthquake in Christchurch. I have told people, in the past: "When early settlers came to NZ, some built in brick and some in wood. Then big earthquakes knocked all the brick buildings down, but the wooden ones stayed up, and so after that they built only in wood. And so today, practically all NZ houses are wooden."
The pictures on Stuff show two things: two damaged roads, and a whole lot of damaged brick buildings.
So, what does that mean? Are there a small number of brick buildings in Christchurch, but they all fell down, so that's what we get photos of? Are South Islanders more complacent about the earthquake risk? Are brick buildings becoming more common as people look for trendy architecture?
The pictures on Stuff show two things: two damaged roads, and a whole lot of damaged brick buildings.
So, what does that mean? Are there a small number of brick buildings in Christchurch, but they all fell down, so that's what we get photos of? Are South Islanders more complacent about the earthquake risk? Are brick buildings becoming more common as people look for trendy architecture?