1. Cultural characteristics that make Canterbury vulnerable to earthquakes and their effects

2. Concentration of population Large urban areas – Christchurch, Ashburton and Timaru 75 % of Canterbury's population live in urban areas At the beginning of 2010 72% of them lived in Christchurch

3. Manufacturing and business Christchurch was second in importance to Auckland as a centre for manufacturing. Christchurch has the largest South Island Port – Lyttleton Port was damaged and access to the Port was a problem to begin with. Christchurch is considered the gateway to The South Island and relies heavily on tourism to boost it’s economy. Christchurch has hosted many nation and international conferences and events and these boosted the economy and provided jobs.

4. Infrastructure A lot of the city heritage buildings were built in the early 1900s Many were made with double unsupported brick walls and unreinforced concrete facades – The Cathedral Much of Christchurch is built on reclaimed swamp and alluvial gravels and is close to the water table – this makes it’s roads, electricity lines and sewerage and water systems vulnerable to damage and contamination as a result of liquefaction.

5. Draw an annotated diagram of how Canterbury/Christchurch’s infrastructure make it/made it vulnerable to the effects of a major earthquake.