Looks like the story just now broke, at least in the US, and I gotta go ta woik, so I can’t post more updates. Hang in, Kiwis.
Developing story, No word on damage or injuries yet.
Big Quake, small city. and twitter accounts says some large aftershocks.
Maybe I am just more aware of Earthquakes this year, but there seems to be a lot of big ones this year.
My prayers for everyone in New Zealand. I have a step brother near Auckland, stay safe.
Latest update: lots of structural damage and multiple injuries reported. (The link may or may not work–I imagine they’ve got some network congestion issues at the moment.)
He’ll be perfectly safe.
I’m in Napier - halfway up the North Island and felt nothing - Auckland’s much further north than me. The distances between Auckland / Christchurch would be like San Diego and San Francisco.
According to the last news I saw (the kid’s taken over the remote) there are only a couple of serious injuries, most are minor. This link is working well for me. Thankfully the worst damage seems mostly confined to things rather than people.
I just called friends in Christchurch (New South Brighton area) and they don’t have electricity or water - but otherwise, no real damage to their house. Pictures didn’t even fall from wall, but stuff fell out of bookshelves.
Lots of aftershocks so far, and the local bridge is off limits until they can check for damage. They said most of the serious damage was in the old downtown city area - with buildings built long before the earthquake regulations for housing took effect.
At any rate - the husband has plenty of beer, so he seemed happy.
Wife said she can cook on gas stove.
No shower (conserving water, and electric water heater) is their biggest complaint, but sitting in the house with candles, food to eat and beer - well, they’re doing OK.
An elderly neighbor, in his 80’s, cannot remember ever having an earthquake this large down there. Lots of little ones over the years, but this was most certainly the biggest they have had - at least in recent memory.
Christchurch resident here.
Lost both chimneys (and a big dent in the roof where one fell) and a lot of crockery and bits and pieces.
Possibly the sing most scary experience of my life, hiding stark naked under the kitchen table with my partner while it felt like a freight train went through the room.
Have both power and water back on now so better off than most people.
I woke to an email from my Dad (who lives in Wellington) telling me everyone was OK, which is lucky as I would have panicked a bit if I’d checked the news first.
My brother in law is in ChCh, and was woken by the quake. Tried to make it to a doorway but the jolting was too rough, so crouched by his bed instead. Which promptly fell off its legs and tried to squash him! But he’s OK, minor cuts only. He has solar hot water but no power, and due to the stone garage shifting, had to rip the garage door off to get the car out.
His mother’s in a hospice and he was one of the first to get there, spent the morning tidying up broken belongings and other items. They are lucky to have a generator, so they had power for those that needed it.
Hope everyone else from down south is OK - I don’t know anyone myself, but apparently a big game over the weekend saw lots of people travelling?
Here’s a collection of images. Some nasty damage that could easily have been fatal if it had happened in the daytime instead of in the middle of the night.
Where are the hobbits? I don’t see any hobbits in those pictures.
Hobbiton was not affected. It’s a magical land where bad things never happen.
Right, bit of a sleepless night last night with all the aftershocks (oh how I hate aftershocks right now).
Both chimneys capped with plastic and bricks cleaned off the roof. A few cracks in the outside of the house but every things look structally sound. Feel lucky to have a roof over my head today. One of the cats is still AWOL and the other two were pretty freaked out yesterday. The neighbours dog spent half of yesterday letting everyone know how unhappy it was which counterpointed the sound of everyone’s crockeryending up in the bin.
Sadly it seems that the historic heart of the city is the worst hit. So much of the citys character is now sitting in the street. The big old houses seem to be the worst hit and anything made of brick has taken a tumble. Most houses round my place look OK although a few have fallen off their pile or have holes in the roof.
Cats back!!!
Excellent news. Hope the clean up continues to go well.
Good luck with the weather.
Yay for the cat!
Not surprising that old buildings got hit hard, they probably weren’t as well engineered as modern buildings and they were, well, old.
Just been on the phone to my dad (it’s Fathers Day in New Zealand) and he told me how he saved a life today! They went out to the Waimak (a local river with forests, etc) to give the dog a good walk, and they came across a car with a pipe through the window. Dad managed to smash the windows, turn the car off and get the guy out.
Turned out he’d broken up with his partner just before the earthquake, then the earthquake hit, then five of his friends were killed in that plane crash in Fox Glacier. Just all too much for the poor guy. However, he was very grateful to dad for saving him and they had a good talk while they waited for the police/ambulance to arrive.
Suffice to say it’s been quite a weekend for my parents…
Bit of a windy night but tarps still on the roof this morning. Nice to have a decent nights sleep as the aftershocks seem to have pretty much stopped. Also out of the danger time for another big one.
Was really strange last night to think that less than 48 hours after a 7.1 earthquake we were sitting on the sofa watching a DVD with a glass of wine having been able to cook a hot meal.
Clash of the Titans was a bit crap. First version was so much cooler but I think being 12 helped.
Well thank goodness for our building codes. It’s pretty amazing that there were no fatalities given the earthquake was slightly stronger than the Haiti one back in January. Happening in the middle of the night certainly helped too. But I think the residents of Christchurch owe a vote of thanks to all the engineers and planners who introduced higher standards over the years, making this event much more survivable.