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The initial aftermath from the 6.3 magnitude quake in Christchurch - Source: ONE News -
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ONE News reporter Tom McRae is in San Francisco where Christchurch City Council staff are getting tips on how to rebuild their city.
San Francisco is scary. And not in an 'Oh my God, I'm going to get mugged' way.
There are brick skyscrapers, 20, 30, 40 storeys high. To someone from Christchurch that is scary.
While the scale of the city is impressive it's hard not to have flashbacks to February 22nd of brick facades falling onto the sidewalk.
Thankfully the ground has been blissfully stable here so far.
We have joined five Christchurch City Councillors and half a dozen business leaders who were invited to spend a week here getting advice, tips, and inspiration from those who were involved in San Francisco's rebuild.
In 1989 almost 70 people were killed when the Bay area was hit by a 6.9 quake. The panic on people's faces in the old news footage is almost a mirror image of what we filmed in Christchurch. Terror is universal.
Today we were taken on a tour of the worst hit suburbs by a Professor of Architecture who helped in the rebuild of San Fran. One thing will be reverberating in my ears for some time. "All the damage was sustained on reclaimed land." Freeways collapsed, houses were destroyed, and people were without basic services for months.
But only on land that wasn't solid. Snap forward to Christchurch and the worst affected suburbs are exactly the same. Land that wasn't solid to begin with to build on.
San Francisco's CBD was however spared, there was no damage at all to the high-rises. A reassuring thought as my hotel room is on the 16th floor.
The delegation has a busy week ahead. Exciting though, there are so many possibilities of what could be done in the rebuild of Christchurch.
After 24 hours in San Francisco it's the right place to be inspired. Beautifully restored buildings, a thriving central city which is travel friendly, and a bustling cultural scene all combine to create a place which is humming.
But I can't help but shake the feeling the scale of the Canterbury rebuild combined with a lack of money will mean inspiration will lose out to practicality.
Tom McRae and Christchurch City Council staff were flown to San Francisco by Air New Zealand.
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