It's not every day that..........
 

..... that you get woken at 4.35am by a 7.1 earthquake, of 70 seconds
duration (it was all I could do to hold on top the floor..), followed a few minutes later by another large one, with 30-40 large aftershocks (one rolled thru exactly as I typed that!!) in the 3.1 to 5.4 range, and dozens of smaller ones. That's what happened here in Christchurch, New Zealand today. The thing that amazed me was that we never lost the phones or cellphones the whole time, had internet the whole time, only had the water and sewer out for a couple of hours, and the power was back up by 11.00am. Haiti's recent bad one was 7.0.

Every house around us has structural damage, and we have a small crack in
one window..... You DO get lucky sometimes.

Greatfully wishing you all cheers,

Nigel in The Shakey Isles

Hey Nigel,
Gud to hear frm you and note u r safe.
experiencing a 7.1surely is nerve racking.Pray for a speedy recovery.
TC,mate.
egbert

Great to hear from you Nigel. The earthquake is headline news up here (UK). From what we can see, it must have been a VERY scary experience.

I attended your HU mini-meeting of Saturday February-21 last year [2009], so I know exactly where you live in Christchurch. During that particular visit to the City my temporary base was in nearby Lyttelton .. .. Hey, now there's a thought .. I do hope the Lyttelton-Christchurch road tunnel is still in one piece [.. :confused1:]

Relying on media and other anecdotal reports can sometimes be misleading, so please keep us informed about the real extent of the damage sustained. In addition to knowing both Lee and yourself, I also have other good friends who live in Christchurch and neighbouring townships .. and with this mind, I again ask that keep us up-to-date with the situation.

Good luck - and best wishes to you all down under

KEITH


.

Glad to hear you and New Zealand are still in one piece !
[Or should that be two pieces :confused1: --North and South]

Hey Nigel,
Great to hear you and your community came through relatively unscathed!
Earth Quakes are super scary events ... I was in middle of the Loma-Prieta
quake in '89 in San Fran Bay area. Also lived through a couple good ones in L.A.

People bitch and moan about building codes and complain they want "govt. off my back". In this case one can appreciate building codes and regs. Saves lives.

Look at Haiti compared to Chile. Almost no loss of life in Chile ... Haiti ? Well, when you use Sea water and Beach sand to mix up cement your re-bar is not going to last too long. :thumbdown:

All the old San Francisco houses built on "Bay Fill" became the victims of
"liquafaction" were the soft ground really moves around A LOT, buildings collapsed.

Check out the pics from '89 to realize how lucky you guys were!

Loma Prieta Earthquake - Google Search

For a few days after the Quake all was chaos. Being on a bike was great, you could get anywhere ... and fast ... using sidewalks, yards, riding round road blocks. The cops never paid us any mind. Like a Post Apocalyptic scene. Strange and quite scary ... but in such a world the motorcycle was a life saver. :scooter:

i have read the news on bbc. i am very glad to hear that there is only a couple of injuries and not a single death.

i have lived the Turkey earthquake which was 7.4 back in 1999 when i was in the army. Carried tents and other first aid kids for 3 months.

Anyway, i hope this would not repeat again anywhere.

My thoughts are with all the people of Christchurch and the surrounding region.
Like most people I've spoken to in Queenstown, I didn't feel a thing and was astounded when I saw the coverage on TV.
We had a bigger quake here last year, magnitude 7.8, but the epicentre was some distance away in a remote area and there was very little damage.
Even so, it was a most unpleasant experience and I can barely imagine what a nervewracking experience yesterday morning's quake would have been for the people of Christchurch... not to mention the massive problems now being faced by those who've lost their homes.

Kia Ora Nigel,

I am glad to hear that you are well and that the damage is relatively minor given the size of the quake. I have no doubt that you hard working Kiwis will have your beautiful city back in great shape in no time.

Cheers

Hi Nigel,

I sent you an email yesterday, thinking you won't get it until services are restored. We are glad that you are OK. A lot of people weren't so lucky.

A friend of ours lives at Selwyn Huts. We were concerned about her, but couldn't contact her, so sent the cops around to check up. As of yesterday power and phones there were still out.

Hi Nigel,

Glad to hear that everybody's coping well down in Christchurch despite all the upheaval. The quake is headline news here in Melbourne and seeing the pictures of the beautiful city in pieces is very sad. I spent a lot of time down there when I lived in NZ and it's heartbreaking to see some of those precious old buildings falling down (or being pulled down) now.

Still, it could have been much worse and I know that of all people the Kiwis have a fighting spirit and will build that city back up to its former glory again. :)

Hope ths aftershocks stop soon... Keep safe.

Jeanie :mchappy:

Hey Nigel,

Hope your place is still alright with all the aftershocks! It is still a miracle to me how the only casualty was a heart attack.

I'm forced to watch this unfold from a distance. Not sure what is worse. Being in the thick of it or watching from a distance and trying to figure out if my places are still OK. Not a good feeling.

Cheers

How is NZ?
 

I was relieved there were no fatalities and few serious injuries. I had family in Christchurch but he came back as his wife couldn't settle (I'd have divorced her & stayed, but then I'd never have married her).

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I was planning on taking a month in NZ when my current contract ends in the new year (if my employer lets me know when they'll be finished with me in time for me to book). Should I put that plan on ice for another year or is everything getting up again quickly? I don't want to be in anybody's way if there is a lot of repair work in progress, and I don't want to be called a tragedy tourist but I get the feeling that NZ is the sort of place where things get done well and quickly.

Hi Mark and everyone else. It's been a rough week for us all with over 250 significant aftershocks, many of them damaging and from a number of different fault lines. Having said that, most of the damage is to the lovely old buildings, or those on soft ground. We have had things tossed off shelves several times now, and a large window broken. It's a very strange thing to be looking out a window across the garden and see the whole lot drop 10cm and kick back up.
Having said that, it is quite possible to drive across the city, staying out of the older parts, and only see the fallen chimneys as the worst damage.

I'd say, by the time you get here, there might be a few gaps in the CBD, but everthing will be running normally. Hell, you could turn up tomorrow, and still expect a normal welcome.

Make sure you get in touch when you get to Chch, we'll go out for a pint.

Cheers all

Nigel in NZ

Done!
 

Rely on it!

That is really a shocking, terrible earthquake... Glad your safe and ok... How about your family? Did your house a little bit crack on the wall? If not... Thank God...