There are very few places on the planet that I think have endured more natural events than Christchurch over the last couple of years.  

This week’s snowstorm has just added to the total and once again Cantabrians encountered freezing and snowy conditions with occasional blackouts and major disruptions to travel.

I feel for those who are still awaiting earthquake repairs and are living in damaged homes with draughts and heating escaping throughout numerous cracks.

On the show on Newstalk ZB there were numerous callers who were talking about their power bills and some had no fires anymore after chimneys gave way with only blow heaters to try and keep them warm.

One gentleman called in to say that he goes to bed with his pyjamas, hat and gloves on and he has no heating as his fireplace was damaged and he doesn’t have enough money to buy a heater. The temperature in his lounge was zero he said.

These are the sorts of living conditions that some residents are putting up with and the anger at ECAN and also EQC and Fletchers is obvious and very understandable.

There have been callers asking why do we have a new rugby stadium ahead of broken homes being repaired. That is tough to answer but sport brings a sense of community, of routine, of normality.  The issue however is where should the priorities lie?

The city is broken and although many hearts are heavy, many hold onto hope that one day all will be good again and perhaps in a new way that currently seems out of reach.

The weather events may be severe at times but Cantabriana are a hardy breed and the spirit of the people has not yet been broken.  It appears they are able to tolerate almost anything that Mother Nature can dish out.

The question remains, how much is too much and how long is too long?

Story by weather analyst Richard Green