I don't know if any of you heard, but Christchurch had a major earthquake at around 1pm today that devastated the whole CBD after previously having a really large Earthquake in September.
This one today, although it was only a 6.4 on the Richter scale, had an epicentre around about 3m below the surface of the earth, and shook the city to pieces, taking down alot of historic buildings. They has been 65 confirmed deaths and the numbers are climbing.
I know most of you wont care much as it's on the other side of the world, but incase you heard, and was worried about me being part of it, I'm on a different island of New Zealand so I'm fine, but I have alot of friends in Christchurch which are affected by this event.
Our Prime minister John Keys is calling this New Zealand's darkest hour. It's probably the worst natural disaster we've ever had (recorded?)
The NZ Herald take on the story (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/image.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1&gallery_id=116918#7380591)
OMG! That is horrible!
I am glad you are already, but I am sorry to hear you have some friends over there. You must be worried sick. I know I would be. I hope they are ok.
What is with all these dam earthquakes and floods that are happening? I am starting to think the Earth is going through some major changes. I am beginning to think this just the beginning, but that is just me.
I heard of this earlier. I'm sorry to hear it. I hope your friends are doing alright. I'll say a prayer for them.
Hang in there. *hugs*
Quote from: Cez on February 22, 2011, 03:29:45 AM
I heard of this earlier. I'm sorry to hear it. I hope your friends are doing alright. I'll say a prayer for them.
Hang in there. *hugs*
I don't know anyone that has been badly effected by it yet. There's a lot of damage there though, and Christchurch was a lovely place before this. :( Very historic.
Menopause? Heh- could be. So far so good for people I know, but a lot are homeless or in damaged buildings so it's still not cool for them. It's been a very dark day though. I'm almost on the other side of NZ to Christchurch, but NZ is such a small country that someone always knows someone when a disaster like this strikes. It's just so unlucky though cause they were hit by a 7.something in September and that devastated them. They were finally recovering them BAM- during the day. Rush hour traffic. This happens. It's so horrible :(
I hadn't heard about the earthquake, but I'm so glad to hear you're ok. I'll be praying for those who are affected.
Oh wow--same here, I'm glad you're okay, and I hope the recovery from this goes well and swiftly for everyone who was affected.
sends purrs from felines
Keep yourself safe.
I'm so sorry. :( I'm glad you're okay.
I just heard about this a little bit ago and was wondering about you. I'm glad to hear you're ok. I'll be praying for those affected by this (which is really all of NZ and beyond, even if not all are physically affected).
When I heard about this, the first person I thought of was you, Arkillian. I'm glad to hear that you're alright though. I hope your friends are doing alright. Although I'm not religious and hence don't really know how to say a prayer, I'll still have you and your friends in my thoughts. Now I'm not going to be able to sleep because I'm going to be worried sick about you.
*Glares at earthquake* Bad earthquake, bad! We don't do that! Now apologize to Arkillian!
:-[
worried face...
Thanks you guys :) No, I'm on the other island of New Zealand- I'm on the north island, while the earth quake was on the south island. It's a disaster that is effecting all of NZ though as we are a small country, and everyone knows someone nearby. There's still a lot of people trapped in building rubble. The stories are all starting to come out now. Photos. It was hard to tell just how bad things were, but I had a little cry reading the news paper this morning- they've caught up on alot of the statistics and there's still a lot of people trapped. Alot now homeless. Jobless. A lot are fleeing Christchurch to get away from the aftershocks. Christchurch will take a LONG time to recover this time.
It's difficult. I hear about other countries having disasters like this, and not being able to fully comprehend the damage. I can only imagine how bad 911 was for you guys. This is our equivalent, except we can't blame anyone. It'll take a horrendous toll on NZ, but it looks like we have a lot of support from surrounding countries. Christchurch will pull through. They'll probably need to rebuild all of Lyttleton and alot of the CBD, but atleast they'll be more earthquake resistant.
Thank you all for your concerns however :)
:hug:
Hope everything turns around for everyone down there soon. If you ever need a friend, we are here for you.
Thanks for the good wishes/prayers everyone. I'm in Christchurch and it's very grim. I'm one of the lucky ones who still has power and water but only 50% of homes have power and 20% have water. We don't have sewage working. Several of my friends are unable to live in their homes. The worst thing is watching the death toll rise. Really appreciate the fact that people on the other side of the world are thinking of us though.
Quote from: Cat1 on February 22, 2011, 11:28:54 PM
Thanks for the good wishes/prayers everyone. I'm in Christchurch and it's very grim. I'm one of the lucky ones who still has power and water but only 50% of homes have power and 20% have water. We don't have sewage working. Several of my friends are unable to live in their homes. The worst thing is watching the death toll rise. Really appreciate the fact that people on the other side of the world are thinking of us though.
Oh man- I'm sorry to hear that D: How badly was your area hit? I assume you were reasonably far from Lyttleton.
Yeah- the death toll. Last I heard it was 75. The sad thing is, after tonight, that number will drastically rise when it goes from Rescue to Recovery mode. It's so upsetting to watch the news. I just had to take a break. I can't imagine what living it is like D:
Thanks, yeah my area wasn't too bad at all - I live in west Christchurch where there was least damage. We have some small cracks and things fallen off shelves and a few neighbours have chimneys down etc. My grandparents live a few blocks away and lots of the plates in their cupboard smashed and their computers fell off desks. But nothing major - we feel so lucky! I was standing under a doorframe and couldn't understand why our house wasn't falling down and was sure that it was about to! My dad was walking in town and ran out into the street to get away from buildings... a building fell down a few metres away from him. Lyttelton is on the east of the city so we were furthest away from the worst point. One of my friends lives near there and told me by txt that his house is 'pretty munted' and he couldn't sleep there. So crazy.
You're right, the news is so depressing. We're not supposed to go out so there's really nothing to do but sit at home and watch it all day hoping for good news but it's probably not a good idea to do that!
Hope any of your relatives in Christchurch are safe and accounted for?
All the people I know are outside of Christchurch, or are like you and aren't too bad off. There are some homeless ones, and we've offered rooms for them up in Auckland.It's such a large scale event though. Only time can tell what will be made of this. Most certainly Christchurch will be getting an Earthquake proof new face- that's for sure :(
Cat, so glad to hear you and your family is safe! I can not even begin to imagine how difficult it is for everyone there. I know 9-11 was mentioned by Arkillian, and while it did affect the whole US, we are such a big country that the shock wore off for lots of those not nearby. New Zealand is obviously much smaller and so most people there probably know people affected.
*hugs all around* Thank you for letting us know you're safe!
Cat1, I'm glad you and your family are okay.
They are saying the aftershocks are still continuing. Stay safe, Kiwis!
Thanks guys. Glad all of your family and friends are safe Arkillian!
Quote from: Cat1 on February 23, 2011, 02:46:40 PM
Thanks guys. Glad all of your family and friends are safe Arkillian!
Keep
yourself safe, too.
Quote from: Sslaxx on February 23, 2011, 03:19:27 PM
Quote from: Cat1 on February 23, 2011, 02:46:40 PM
Thanks guys. Glad all of your family and friends are safe Arkillian!
Keep yourself safe, too.
I second this.
Quote from: KatieHal on February 23, 2011, 05:35:30 AM
Cat1, I'm glad you and your family are okay.
Me too!
(Posted on: February 23, 2011, 03:51:53 PM)
Quote from: dark-daventry on February 23, 2011, 03:26:26 PM
Quote from: Sslaxx on February 23, 2011, 03:19:27 PM
Quote from: Cat1 on February 23, 2011, 02:46:40 PM
Thanks guys. Glad all of your family and friends are safe Arkillian!
Keep yourself safe, too.
I second this.
I third this.
Quote from: Lambonius on February 23, 2011, 07:39:10 AM
They are saying the aftershocks are still continuing. Stay safe, Kiwis!
A lot of people from Christchurch are fleeing with the sympathy votes to Wellington and Auckland cause of the aftershocks. Apparently they're the worst part. I think cause it's a constant reminder of the big one.
Quote from: NW15 on February 23, 2011, 04:52:09 PM
Quote from: KatieHal on February 23, 2011, 05:35:30 AM
Cat1, I'm glad you and your family are okay.
Me too!
(Posted on: February 23, 2011, 03:51:53 PM)
Quote from: dark-daventry on February 23, 2011, 03:26:26 PM
Quote from: Sslaxx on February 23, 2011, 03:19:27 PM
Quote from: Cat1 on February 23, 2011, 02:46:40 PM
Thanks guys. Glad all of your family and friends are safe Arkillian!
Keep yourself safe, too.
I second this.
I third this.
Thanks I will!
Arkillian, I've been lurking, and when I saw this thread I knew that I couldn't just stand by and not say anything.
I'm so glad that you and your family are safe! I'm so, so sorry to hear about what's going on in your homeland. :( I am absolutely praying for you and yours, stay safe! <3
Thanks Haids :) It's great to hear that he world are aware of our situation here and are thinking about us. It wasn't that long ago that you asked someone about NZ and they'd answer 'Where?' or 'Isn't that part of Australia?'
I'm proud of my home country, and it's really nice that others sympathise with our struggle right now.
The numbers are climbing with the deaths too. They're about to tip over 100. They're estimated to go over 200 T.T For a city that isn't the main city of the country, that's a HUGE chunk of the population to go. Auckland holds about 1/3 of the population of NZ, and we have about about 1.5 million. I don't know how many people Christchurch has, but it wont be any where near that.
Apparently they cancelled their local census too. Good on them :(
Oh my gosh, my heart is breaking for you. :'( Arkillian, I can't even express how much I hurt for you and your country. I remember what it feels like to lose so many people at once...but God is holding you in the palm of His hands.
I wonder if they're doing any blood drives in my area, I'm sure injured people in New Zealand need it right now. It's not much, I know, but I want to help any way I can besides praying!
Quote from: Haids1987 on February 24, 2011, 07:43:47 PM
Oh my gosh, my heart is breaking for you. :'( Arkillian, I can't even express how much I hurt for you and your country. I remember what it feels like to lose so many people at once...but God is holding you in the palm of His hands.
I wonder if they're doing any blood drives in my area, I'm sure injured people in New Zealand need it right now. It's not much, I know, but I want to help any way I can besides praying!
They don't need blood- more like money :( They have plenty of blood apparently. The funds are more important now. There's alot of donation runs on right now.
Do you know of a website to a good, legitimate place that will accept a donation?
This is so awful. :'( Glad you two are ok. I hope the rest of the recovery goes as well and as swiftly as it can. :(
Christchurch was our first stop, and I just loved it, one of my favorite places of the trip. It's so hard to believe the pictures of what it looks like now :'(
I've learned that DriveThruRPG, a site that sells PDFs of role-playing games (the pen & paper variety) is having a sale to benefit the Red Cross's efforts in NZ right now. Details are here (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=88713): in brief, it's a sizeable amount of games, worth about $350, selling for just $20. And it has a link to make a direct donation for $5 on the page as well.
Wow, thank you Katie! :)
Yeah- a few people are doing the donate money get something in return thing. Otherwise you can donate direct to Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org.nz/cms_display.php) which will go direct to the relief fund :) And thank you :sweetheart:
Grrr... credit card company denied the transaction and deactivated my card. >:( I finally got it straightened out. :)
Quote from: snabbott on February 25, 2011, 09:11:45 AM
Grrr... credit card company denied the transaction and deactivated my card. >:( I finally got it straightened out. :)
Evil credit card company... You're trying to help people out, and they deactivate your card? How rude of them!
<rant>
Yeah - I called them up, and they said it looked like I had a lot of online activity (three transactions in the last week! :o). Hello! It's 2011! And if I were an Identity thief, would the Red Cross really be where I would go? Who am I? Robin Hood?
</rant>
Quote from: snabbott on February 25, 2011, 02:11:08 PM
<rant>
Yeah - I called them up, and they said it looked like I had a lot of online activity (three transactions in the last week! :o). Hello! It's 2011! And if I were an Identity thief, would the Red Cross really be where I would go? Who am I? Robin Hood?
</rant>
Sorry- how do they count a donation as fraud? I do online transactions all the time. That doesn't make me a fraud! What on earth do they think your doing? O.o
Quote from: snabbott on February 25, 2011, 02:11:08 PM
<rant>
And if I were an Identity thief, would the Red Cross really be where I would go? Who am I? Robin Hood?
</rant>
:rofl:
Quote from: Arkillian on February 25, 2011, 05:06:24 PM
Quote from: snabbott on February 25, 2011, 02:11:08 PM
<rant>
Yeah - I called them up, and they said it looked like I had a lot of online activity (three transactions in the last week! :o). Hello! It's 2011! And if I were an Identity thief, would the Red Cross really be where I would go? Who am I? Robin Hood?
</rant>
Sorry- how do they count a donation as fraud? I do online transactions all the time. That doesn't make me a fraud! What on earth do they think your doing? O.o
I know right? I was wondering the same thing!
How are the recovery efforts going? Any news?
Quote from: snabbott on March 08, 2011, 09:03:16 AM
How are the recovery efforts going? Any news?
Well, A LOT of relief has gone to Christchurch. A few are still without the essentials, but they've got portable toilets, and generator and stuff now. They opened up the main center of Christchurch this week so I'm not sure if that means the buildings are ok to use again- perhaps it's just safe enough to grab non destroyed items. They've suffered constant after shocks- the worst was last weekend. Off memory, it was about a 4.3 and it was 12km deep. Didn't do much damage (more than there was >.>) but it rattled a few apparently. I know a lot of people that have gone down to help clean up. One of my friends is down there assessing the buildings for damage levels. We've had a great deal of international help too with the rescuing :)
I do hear though that the insurance companies are run off their feet with claims. Apparently theres enough funds to pay for it all, but it's doing a lot of damage to NZ financially. Our dollar has gone down, and petrol prices just went up. It'll take a while for us to recover from this I can see :( I've tried to do my bit- I donated $50 the other day. I'll see if I can spare some more from my next paycheck too. IT's not much, but it's for an important cause :'(
I have friends there too and the last I heard from her she said the lineups at the gas station were just insane. Her grandma and grandpa have become ill because of the water :( Those poor people...it is horribly sad too because it used to be so beautiful there. (I got to visit about 10 years ago now) Our thoughts and prayers are with you guys over there too.
Oh- it was more than just gas. It took over a day to get water there. They were about a week without sewage as well. They had to share portaloos and a heap of stuff. Alot caught rainwater for a while. People were going in their backyards with their dogs so they didn't have to go to the public one. Then they got septic tanks which weren't installed correctly, forcing people to lift their sewerage to a hight higher than them to get rid of it. Apparently it was a VERY rancid smell. There's so many terrible things I've heard about what they had to, and some are still going through. Apparently they wont start rebuilding the city center for a year either. This is going to kill the economy in Christchurch for ages.