New Zealand Quake

[emtee3511]

I know the Forum has members in Christchurch... sending my prayers for everyone affected there...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41709359/

[killer]

We have a family from Christchurch NZ living in our village. Although they have found out that their close relatives are safe, they are really concerned for many of their friends and former colleagues.

I wish to extend heartfelt sympathies to anyone affected by this devastating earthquake.

Edit. The msn video link cannot be seen in all countries but this link will allow you to see photos of the destruction. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12533722

[bill bolton]

This aftershock of the September quake is in fact MUCH more serious that the primary quake in terms of its impact on Christchuch for a whole host of reasons (it also has some fairly serious financial implications for the whole country, but that is a story for another time).

Most of the signs of damage from the September quake had been cleaned up by the time we visited Christchurch is late October, but the damage this time is going to take a long time to rectify, with building collapses and widepread utility damage. The official death toll as of a few hours ago was 38 but the authorities know there are a lot of bodies under the rubble so it can be expected to climb a lot higher.

The communications infrastructure has also been badly damaged and there are still friends and business colleagues in the city that I have been totally unable to contact....

Bill B.

[lead_org]

The world sure seems to have lot of disasters in the past 12 months...

[killer]

One effect of the earthquake ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/12548715

[kiwipad]

For anyone wanting "local" updates this is TVNZ's site

And our local geek community has this excellent resource.

Local telecom providers are working to maintain power to cell-sites to enable communication, with Vodafone for example deploying a mobile facility with wi-fi access, phone charging points, etc.

My OH was in Dunedin, a couple of hundred miles south of Christchurch but their building was shaken by both the initial quake and subsequent aftershocks; some of the buildings here in central Wellington were also shaken. So the extent of the damage in Chch just a few miles from a shallow epicentre is unsurprising, especially given the likely effects of structural weakness following the two recent events of Sept4 and Dec 26 last year and the myriad aftershocks associated with those.

Right now the focus is on rescue of people who still may be trapped in collapsed buildings and then the dreadful task of recovering the bodies of those who didn't make it. USAR teams from across the world are already on the ground assisting local expertise.

Bill is absolutely right, the economic and social implications for the city and the country are huge - but he is also right, that's something for the future.

IG

[emtee3511]

Forum member fasterbybike is from Christchurch -- not sure who else is -- hopefully he/she will check in and let us know they're okay -- still sending prayers for everyone affected...

[fasterbybike]

Thx for all the messages of support. My family and I are ok, although a school friend was in a building that collapsed and is dead. My sister was in a modern multi level building that collapsed but somehow walked out. Other people in the same meeting room are dead.

Luckily the suburb where I live is not too badly affected so I have been busy helping those in more affected areas start the big cleanup. There are over 200,000 tons of silt that has been forced out of the ground by the shaking. And the CBD is still locked down while rescue/recovery operations continue.

Our local paper has good coverage http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/

More later ...

[bill bolton]

I managed to track down all of my contacts in ChCh, but unfortunately one of them was killed by the earthquake.

He was an insurance assessor from Sydney who was working through the claim backlog from the previous quakes last year in the Pyne Gould Corporation building (one of the ones that pancaked), and actually survived the direct event, and was able to talk to his wife in Sydney on a mobile phone while he was trapped in the rubble.

However, his injuries were very serious and he "bled out" during the rescue process.

Credible reports over the past few days are suggesting that between ~25% and ~33% of the buildings in the Central Business District of ChCh will need to be condemed and its going to be several weeks before there will be any general public access possible to the city centre.

Bill B.