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Major Earthquake in New Zealand- NZ's Darkest hour

Started by Arkillian, February 22, 2011, 03:16:12 AM

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Arkillian

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



NW15

#1
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.

Cez

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*


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Arkillian

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 :(



koko_99_2001

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.
<3 Happily married to FataliOmega since July 11, 2009 <3

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KatieHal

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.

Katie Hallahan
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Enchantermon

So what if I am, huh? Anyways, I work better when I'm drunk. It makes me fearless! If I see a bad guy, I'll just point my sword at him and saaaaaaaaaay, "Hey! Bad guy! You're not s'posed to be here! Go home or I'll stick you with my sword 'til you go, 'Ouch! I'm dead!' Ah-ha-ha!" Ha-ha. *hic* See? Ain't no one gonna be messin' wit' ol', Benny!

snabbott

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).

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dark-daventry

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!
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Arkillian

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 :)



waltzdancing

 :hug:

Hope everything turns around for everyone down there soon. If you ever need a friend, we are here for you.

Cat1

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.

Arkillian

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:



Cat1

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?

Arkillian

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 :(



koko_99_2001

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!
<3 Happily married to FataliOmega since July 11, 2009 <3

The Unofficial The Silver Lining Official Sarcasm Cleaner Upper :cat:

Catherine DaCosta

KatieHal


Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Lambonius

They are saying the aftershocks are still continuing.  Stay safe, Kiwis!