Supermarkets

Supermarkets tend to be badly damaged during earthquakes, as they have high shelves stacked with things that can fall down and break. After the earthquake in Christchurch, not many supermarket owners were on television, saying what they were going to do. Politicians seem to be much better at that.

The surprising thing is that many supermarkets were open again on the day following the quake. Almost all supermarkets were open on the second day following the quake. Despite the severity of the earthquake and a landslip that blocked the main route into the city, their was no shortage of food in the city. I presume that this is partly because many supermarkets are owner-operated franchises.