PLAN OF ATTACK

Earthquakes Are No Good For Business

// August 1st, 2011 // General Broadcast

So, yes, we haven’t posted since late last year. There is a very good reason for this. We have not been wiped off the planet – completely – but we were very nearly.

You see Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains have been suffering from Earthquakes and Aftershocks (along with the associated  liquefaction).

Not 1 but 3 major earthquakes and roughly 8000 aftershocks of varying magnitude.

Our office in the city is no longer accessible and everyone is now living the dream and working from home whether they like it or not along with roughly 20,000 other Christchurch CBD workers.

Working from home has it’s perks. The commute from bedroom to office is pretty quick and usually has very little traffic.

However, after the initial weeks this novelty quickly wears thin and the dangers of ‘cabin fever’ can become apparent.

Initially (of course) the impact of the earthquake had massive social and economic implications. There would be very few Cantabrians that didn’t know at least 1 (possibly more) of the 181 souls who perished in the February Aftershock.

Economically the impact was obvious at both a local and a national level. Businesses forced to close, job losses and the flow on effects from this. Slowly though there are signs now that businesses are beginning to get back on track and there will be a definite upswing in economic activity as the CBD and the suburbs goes about repairing and rebuilding. Advertising has noticeably increased in the last month or so as Christchurch businesses find their feet and go about letting everyone know where they have relocated to and how these events have changed them and how they now conduct their business.

So yes, the title of this post has been a little misleading. Earthquakes are no good for business. At least not initially.