Warnings about the vulnerability of Christchurch's heritage buildings in an earthquake were given 15 years ago on television.

The earthquake dangers facing Christchurch were revealed in an Inside New Zealand documentary broadcast on TV3 in 1996.



The TV3 documentary described Christchurch as having "a fatal flaw."

"It sits on a soft, shaky sponge of river stones and silt half a kilometre deep. In any decent quake, Christchurch will shake like a leaf," it said.

Christchurch was described as having "quite a high susceptability to liquefaction", especially in eastern areas.

Concern was also raised about the "hundreds" of old buildings that had not been strengthened.

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