The February 2011 earthquake caused widespread damage across Christchurch , especially in the central city and eastern suburbs , with damage exacerbated by buildings and infrastructure already being weakened by the 4 September 2010 earthquake and its aftershocks . The earthquake , which struck at lunchtime on a weekday , caused devastation in the central city , with two large office buildings having collapsed ( the CTV Building and the PGC House ) , many historic building façades had collapsed into the streets , two buses were crushed by falling façades in Colombo Street , and many people in City Mall were trapped by fallen masonry . A total of 185 people died in the February earthquake , 169 died in the central zone alone : 115 in the CTV building , 18 at PGC House , 8 on buses in Colombo Street and 28 others in various CBD locations
2010 earthquake
2010 Canterbury earthquake
Central City Red Zone