Wnated to drive through the city central to see what the earthquake did - it was 3 years ago and the recovery is still ongoing - here are some facts: Occured February 2011 Magnitude 6.3 Killed 185 people The nations deadliest peacetime disaster Struck the Canterbury Region in New Zealand's South Island at 12:51 pm on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 local time The earthquake was centred 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the port town of Lyttelton, and 10 kilometres (6 mi) south-east of the centre of Christchurch, New Zealand's second-most populous city. It followed nearly six months after the magnitude 7.1 Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010, which caused significant damage to Christchurch and the central Canterbury region, but no direct fatalities. The earthquake caused widespread damage, especially in the central city and eastern suburbs, with damage exacerbated by buildings and infrastructure already being weakened by 4 September 2010 earthquake and its aftershocks. Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs, producing around 400,000 tonnes of silt. The shallow earthquake was reported to be felt across the South Island and the lower and central North Island. While the initial quake only lasted around 10 seconds, the vicinity and depth of its location to Christchurch in addition to the previous quakes were the reason for so much destruction.