Contrasting surveys give clue to rebuilding Christchurch

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker. Photo / Getty Images

Christchurch people rated their quality of life higher than those in any other big city before February's killer earthquake. Now they are the most stressed in New Zealand.

Surveys have revealed how much the quake has transformed life for those in Christchurch, and have given civic leaders a guide on what they will need to do to get the city back to its former glory.

Continuing aftershocks, such as the 5.3 magnitude quake that hit at 3.04am yesterday, are making it even more difficult for residents to get life back on track.

The aftershock - at a depth of 15km, 20km west of Christchurch - widened cracks in some already damaged buildings, but did not cause any serious new damage. It was the eighth largest quake since the 7.1 event in September, and the 6.3 quake on February 22.

In the biennial Quality of Life survey, which measures the views of more than 6000 residents living in New Zealand's eight largest cities, Christchurch scored highest with 95 per cent of residents rating their quality of life as good or extremely good.

This compares to 94 per cent in Wellington and 92 per cent in Auckland.

Surveying in Christchurch finished the day before the February quake.

"What is of value with this survey is the number of positives in residents' perceptions pre-quake which will assist us greatly as to what our residents value as we rebuild our city," said Christchurch mayor Bob Parker.

The Southern Cross Healthcare Group survey of 1000 New Zealanders, done five weeks after the quake, found stress levels were highest in Christchurch, where 46 per cent of respondents said they felt stressed.

Aucklanders had the second-highest stress level (32 per cent), followed by Hamilton (25 per cent), Tauranga and Dunedin (both 24 per cent) and Wellington (21 per cent).

Sixty-one per cent of Christchurch respondents said they were more stressed than a year ago, and 59 per cent were worried about another natural disaster.

The rebuilding process also concerned nearly two-thirds (63 per cent).