Professor Mark Quigley recalls moment deadly Christchurch quake hit

A MELBOURNE man has recalled the terrifying moment an earthquake destroyed a New Zealand city — and how he played a key role in the aftermath.

MARK Quigley was getting ready for lunch when he heard the roar of the earthquake.

The quake that hit at 12.51pm on February 22, 2011 was one of thousands that had shaken Christchurch in the months since a 7.1 tremor rocked the New Zealand city to its core.

But that 6.3 shake — that occurred five years ago today — was something far more terrifying.

“We’d been rattled by aftershocks before for ages, including some big ones, so the nerves were on high anyway ... We were about to go out and then heard this roar heading right at us.”

Prof Quigley, then an earthquake scientist with the University of Canterbury, braced himself with colleagues in doorframes as the shaking got worse and worse.

Their professional curiosity was aroused — but that was then replaced with sheer terror.

“We looked at each other with a mixture of interest in like ‘oh my God what is going to happen here’ and also fear as well, obviously. We knew it was very bad, straight away.”

Now working for Melbourne University, Associate Professor Quigley can vividly recall what happened next.

“We were evacuated to the parking lot and we could see these waves, just like you would see in the ocean, we could see rolls coming in over the parking lot and buildings going back and forth and cars bobbing up and down.”

Rescuers search for survivors in a collapsed building in Manchester St in central Christchurch on February 22, 2011. Picture: Martin Hunter/Getty Images

The next few hours were a blur as he rode home through the ruined central city to his suburban home.

“People were scared, they were screaming and crying and looking around wondering where to go,” he said.

There were some injured people sitting on the side of the road dazed, and he could see the smoke billowing from the collapsed CTV building were 115 people had been killed.

His home was a mess, heavily damaged by liquefaction, where the soil becomes unstable. They would be able to live in it six months before it was condemned, like thousands of others

After speaking with his partner Candice, he made his way back into the central city. Media outlets were calling — and as an earthquake expert — his expertise was needed to help explain what was happening.

In doing so he became one of the faces of the quake, a familiar face in the 24/7 news coverage that followed the disaster.

Many of the updates were provided from Latimer Square which also acted as a makeshift triage centre for the injured. It also acted as a temporary morgue where bodies from collapsed buildings were taken.

“I just remember being there near where the morgue was set up ... That was a really grim feeling. And there were constant aftershocks the whole way through.”

That was pretty much his life for the next few weeks as he and colleagues went about their work, recording the massive changes underway beneath Christchurch.

He visited Christchurch recently and saw the progress the city had made, although much more needs to be done.

The rebuild has been hampered by aftershocks that are almost never-ending, including a sharp 5.7 one last week.

Professionally it was a rare event, but the enormous loss of life meant the work was “very sombre”.

“I think we were in kind of shock for the first few days. We didn’t have too much time to reflect on things it was just totally epic the whole time.”

It’s only now the enormity of it — and the role he played in the aftermath — has sunk in.

“I’m getting sadder and more reflective as time goes on when it comes to this time of year.”

Originally published as Professor Mark Quigley recalls moment deadly Christchurch quake hit