Warning: This article contains imagery that readers may find distressing.
Monday, February 22, 2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of one of New Zealand's deadliest disasters in recent history.
The day is particularly poignant for Christchurch, the city that lost 185 people in a lethal earthquake exactly one decade ago.
At 12:51pm on February 22, 2011, a violent magnitude 6.3 quake rocked the Canterbury region, striking roughly 10 kilometres south-east of the centre of Christchurch, the South Island's most populated city.
The strength of the tremors caused widespread destruction, toppling buildings, tumbling masonry and debris on passers-by and collapsing shopfronts.
Although the initial earthquake lasted approximately 10 seconds, the city had been weakened by the magnitude 7.1 Canterbury quake five months prior, resulting in severe damage to property and infrastructure. It led to the demolition of several buildings, including the Hotel Grand Chancellor, the Carlton Hotel, a heritage site, and the partial deconstruction of the Christ Church Cathedral, which has been closed ever since.
Of the 185 fatalities, 115 were killed in the collapse of the six-storey Canterbury Television (CTV) building. Eighteen died in the destruction of the Pyne Gould Corporation headquarters.
Suburban areas were also heavily impacted by the earthquake, the tremors causing soil liquefaction, rockfalls, landslides and the deaths of 12 people.
The 2011 earthquake rocked both a city and a nation. As New Zealand remembers the day that brought disaster to the heart of Christchurch, here is a look back at the devastation that has gone down in history.
