The mayor has made a formal apology to families of the 185 people who died in the magnitude 6.3 earthquake nine years ago.
David Selway's sister, Susan, was one of the 115 who died in the CTV building collapse - and he says there was a lot of sadness during the mayor's apology, with a lot of memories coming back.
Bruce McEachen lost his son Matthew, as he was trying to escape falling masonry on Colombo Street.
He says it'll take awhile for the apology to sink in.