Photo / NZ Parliament (Twitter)
The New Zealand flag will fly at half-mast on all government and public buildings on Monday to mark the tenth anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake, following a request from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The flag will remain at half-mast during the daytime on Monday, with the instruction applying to all government departments, buildings and naval vessels which have flag poles and normally fly the New Zealand flag.
The flag will be returned to full mast at the close of business hours on Monday.
The Ministry of Culture and Heritage said in a statement, "The flag is half-masted by first raising it to the top of the mast and then immediately lowering it slowly to the half-mast position.
"The flag must be lowered to a position recognisably “half-mast” to avoid the appearance of a flag which has accidentally fallen away from the top of the flagpole."
The magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch at 12:51 p.m on Tuesday 22 February 2011, killing 185 people and injuring several thousand.