Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: John Kitt on February 22, 2011, 01:13:35 AM
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Christchurch has been hit by another tremor 6.3, causing some considerable damage.
Hope all our colleagues nearby are OK
Thinking of you all.
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Howdy All,
Reports on all our television networks at the moment that there has been a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that has hit Christchurch in New Zealand. They're talking of mass fatalities, widespread destruction in the city centre, two buses crushed by falling buildings, the airport has been evacuated. My understanding is they've been having aftershocks since the September quake, but this one is much worse damage than the original quake.
My thoughts go out to any of the New Zealanders who have relatives in, or are themselves living in the area. Hopefully Lesley and all are OK?
I'm sure there will be more details coming forward, but I thought I would start a topic here to just make sure that everyone is safe and well. I know we had a topic somewhere that we talked about the original quake, but I can't find it, so I hope no-one minds a new one.
All the best to New Zealand. This one looks pretty bad. :'(
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Hoping all our New Zealand friends on the Forum are okay.
johnw
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I don't know whether footage is appearing much overseas, but it really is awful. The main cathedral in the middle of the city has partially collapsed, mains water pipes have broken and areas are flooding, squashed parked cars along the streets, massive boulders dislodged off hillsides have crushed other buildings. The quake was centred 10 to 20km south of the city (depends which reports you see) near a town called Lyttleton. Apparently 60% of that town is destroyed. In the two hours since, there have been 5 aftershocks between 4.0 and 5.5. Apparently while this quake was less than the original, and of a shorter duration, this one was more violent in it's action, which is why so much has been destroyed.
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At 1.51pm (lunchtime) Chch was hit by what was billed as another aftershock of 6.3 magnitude but local GNS scientists are thinking it is on a separate fault altogether and already there are aftershocks from this one. It was just 5kms deep and only 10kms from the city centre. The damage is worse than the early one and there are very likely fatalities, not confirmed yet.
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John Kitt has also started a thread about it at just the same time. Perhaps Maggi, they could be joined together.
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Sorry, I hadn't seen it up in the members area. I had thought this was the place to start it..... didn't think about it going in there instead.
Sorry.
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I was just searching on the member map where do live our New Zelanders friends :(
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I have just listened to the news and have heard about the earthquake in Christcurch. They say it's really bad and 65 people have lost their lives. I hope all our friends in New Zealand are safe . There is nothing worse waking up to hear about this tragedy. I hope no more lives will be lost.
Angie :)
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We send our love, hopes and prayers for the residents of Christchurch - the images are heartbreaking.
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All the best to our members in the area! This was top story on our national news...
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I heard this on the news as I awoke, and immediately thought of our NZ friends. I hope they and their families are safe, and also hope the loss of life is not as great as feared. It sounds awful, and my thoughts are with the people affected.
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As I get ready for bed here, near Wellington, it is starting to look like the loss of life may be even worse than feared and this quake may even exceed the death toll of the 1931 Napier quake when 256 people died. Hopefully this won't come to pass.
I have been lucky as relations-in-laws from the UK drove out of Christchurch just an hour before the quake to start a 2 week camper van trip around the South Island. Also I have just had an email from a friend to say that while she has a lot of repotting to do (again) her family all got home eventually and are all OK.
Days like this remind you about how precious each day is and how precious friends are.
David
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This seems to be a dreadfully serious event with huge loss of life. I hope those we know through the forums have been fortunate; that they, their families, relatives and friends are safe.
Paddy
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This is dreadful and very frightening news from New Zealand.
I have merged the two threads here.
We can only hope that the damage and casualties are fewer than feared and that all our friends - whether they be SRGC members, registered forumists or "Lurkers" (as we call our regular readers) are safe after this disaster.
Our hearts go out to the people of New Zealand atthis time.
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I am so sad to hear this dreadful news. I'd not seen the news this morning, so am reading it here on this thread for the first time.
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Some interesting discussions happening in the news this evening.....
There is conjecture as to whether this latest quake in Christchurch is a separate quake or an aftershock of the previous quake. Since the September quake there have been 4000 (!!! :o) aftershocks, including a very large one on Boxing Day. The original quake (7.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale) was centred 31km below the surface, while today's quake (6.3 magnitude) was just 5km below the surface. That is why this one is so much more damaging than the September one. But some are saying this is a separate quake, while others say this is just another aftershock. This is a long time after the original quake for such a large aftershock, but there have been so many aftershocks since then that it does make it difficult to know.
They're forecasting possible loss of life as between 200 and 400, although 65 confirmed at this time. They were just talking to a reporter live a minute ago on the news and a fair sized aftershock hit. You could hear his voice crack, and again about a minute later when another smaller aftershock went happened. I can only imagine how tense everyone must be, having been on edge for so much time since last September, thinking that the worst was really over, and then having this hit today. It's a really terrible situation. :'(
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What a disaster! I just see it in the tv news. I send all my very best wishes to all our friends in New Zealand in this sad and dificoult moments
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So far no members known to be drastically affected. Scary, but we will be bounce back.
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It's been a privelege to be able to provide a bed and brief respite to valient friends in our fire and police who now have no homes to return to, but now at 3.05 am. we have been hit with another aftershock. They are so exhausted virtually not a stir. All due back on duty at daylight. Sounds as though we will have Aussie friends over here to assist in the morning, long live the Anzac tradition.
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Stuart, we are all hoping to hear good news from all our SRGC/AGS friends in the area.... and I know there are lots of them.
We will hope that this news from you holds and no-one is hurt.
We hear on TV that American rescue workers are going over too. It's at times like this we discove just how large and small our world is... all at the same time.
I'll join your posts with the existing thread offering support to the NZers.
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Here's hoping that all forumists are safe and well,and you are all in our thoughts at this terrible time
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My thoughts are with all of you in the Christchurch area. The news is so horrific I can't imagine what you are going through. Don't know if there's anything we can do to help from this distance, but if there is please ask.
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What a tragedy ! :'( :'(
Strength to all concerned ! Good to see so much help on the way !
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As at 7 this morning the "official" death toll was 32 because it was only 32 who had been identified. At least 65 are known to be dead as of last night but many more are expected to be confirmed today, with current emphasis being, of course, on recovering live people from squashed buildings. Many of the dead seem to be in cars parked in the central business district, flattened to only cms depth in some cases but their bodies are not the immediate priority while some are still alive. People in a doctor's rooms on a fifth floor had the place collapse under them, and simply walked out of the building - at ground level! But there are still others in the same building and over 30 were recovered overnight, and cries and cell phone calls are still being heard from trapped people.
As always when such a disaster happens, our wonderful friends in Australia have offered urban SAR teams, already arrived, and any other help we need. Similar offers are from the USA, Japan, and Israel.
Some are speaking of the future of Christchurch as if it could be in doubt at all. It is hard to imagine a city of half a million, our second biggest, being pushed off the map altogether but maybe that will need to be considered if earthquakes are to become a regular event. The aftershocks have been many and as high as 5.9.
I didn't even feel this quake and am not affected except to wish well for my friends up there. I'm sure all NZers would join me in thanking Forumists for their thoughts and concerns at a horrible time.
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I have been following the news and been quite moved by the individual stories, often covered very insensitively by the reporters. Last night the death toll was put at 65 but had been revised down to 39 this morning. Sadly, this number will rise. I think some questions need to be asked when a new building can collapse like a deck of cards with the 5th floor being brought down to street level! The loss of life is terrible. I think the pictures of Christchurch cathedral gives an idea of the strength of this shallow earthquake.
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I mourn for all the lost. And I hope all forumists are OK. News on TV were shocking.
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. I think some questions need to be asked when a new building can collapse like a deck of cards with the 5th floor being brought down to street level! The loss of life is terrible. I think the pictures of Christchurch cathedral gives an idea of the strength of this shallow earthquake.
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Hi Anthony.over here that building has been quoted as being built in the 60's,apparently before new building regulations came into effect.bye Ray
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Just a little note from Christchurch. Thank you all so much for all your kind thoughts & good wishes - yes it has been a simply terrifying thing to experience - much loss of life - 79 to date, 300 reported missing - but also many miraculous rescues. I have spoken to Doug [Kiwi] - he & his family have all survived but have extensive damage again - no power,sewerage,water - he will be in touch with you all when communications are up & running again. Says to tell Dave he is busy landscaping again & that he has managed to get himself a little closer to the river.
Regards Edna - registered forumists, regular lurker & avid close follower of discussions.
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Edna,
Great to hear from you. I thought you were in that area, but I didn't know whether you were in Christchurch itself or somewhere in the surrounding area. So glad you're OK. I think of you regularly when I look at some of my little Daphne seedlings that are coming along so nicely. ;D
Good to hear that Doug is OK as well. So does that mean he now has river views where he didn't used to? Or is that just the effects of liquefaction on his driveway. ::) Seeing the pics of the car that sank halfway into the ground with liquefaction is just amazing.
All the best to everyone in the area! (again)
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Thank goodness we are hearing that our ChCh friends all seem to be alive.
I heard today from Betty Clark and they are rattled but unbowed... as is their chimney. They are in Ashburton and their family in ChCh are all fine, too.
Great to hear from Edna in person too.
Jean Wyllie has been in touch with other ChCh-ers so the Scottish anxiety levels have reduced somewhat. Phew!
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That's good news, thank you Maggi.
I have been watching this thread since it fist came up (couldn't sleep). It's so hard to know what to say. Other people do it so much better. Our thoughts are with you down under. :) :) :)
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It's bad enough seeing it all at a distance on the news bulletins, but when you hear first hand gory details from friends on the front line it feels good to be alive. The people in the services are working extremely long and stressfull shifts but seem to need to 'unload' before crashing for the night. We all should be gratefull for the practical overseas aid workers who have arrived and immediately get stuck into assisting our own personnel. Going to bed after midnight and being back on line at daybreak certainly needs guts, youth and determination. Hope they have another successfull day tomorrow and rescue more people from near impossible situations.
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I would like to add my concerns and good wishes to all the folk involved in this terrible tragedy. It put's ones own problems into perspective. I heard on our local news today that the Grampian Fire Brigade's crack team for earthquake rescue is on its way to you. This team is specially trained and has been all over the world doing this kind of work. They work on a 6-month rota of being first and second "on call". They are on first call currently and that means ready to depart within 24 hours. So Aberdonians will soon be with you in more than spirit.
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Hi all
I am safe and home
I work in the largest central city hotel so evacuating 298 rooms especially when aftershocks are kicking in and on the higher floors was awful. The situation in the city is just terrible.
The kindness of strangers over this time has been inspiring
Getting home was a drama but eventually got here
Ross
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Such a fantastic response from all the world, including unlikeley places and people. Teams are on the way now from the UK as Maureen says, all specialist search and rescue people, with experience in Haiti, and also from Japan and Taiwan arriving shortly. Teams from Singapore are already working in Chch and men from the USA will arrive today, hoping, they say, to be taken straight to where they can get on with their work.
Water, power and sewerage systems are all down for the majority of the city and the town of Lyttelton, the major port in the South Island is just about ruined but are coping with NZ navy in port and a large army team as well on their way to a combined exercise but stopping off instead. Fonterra, the biggest dairy company in the world is bringing 200,000 litres of water at a time in a fleet of milk tankers and supermarkets and dairies are giving out emergency food and bottled water, without payment, to those who are desperate.
There's nothing like a natural disaster to unite the people of a country and their friends around the world.
Police have not yet given up hope of finding live people in the rubble and we've all heard of someone miraculously being found alive after many days or even a couple of weeks, in Guatemala, China and elsewhere but there has been no indication of life since about 3pm yesterday. No voice, no cell phone call, nothing on cameras inserted, or heat seeking devices. Dogs have not indicated again.
On a more personal level, I'm so happy those I know in Christchurch seem to be alive and well, except poor Doug's second major damage. Edna, I was going to post your Dianthus on Tuesday afternoon, was actually packing them when we heard on the radio about the erthquake. I'll hold them until you let me know you can receive them safely. There was a note running across the bottom of the TV screen last night that NZ Post was disrupted, so let me know when you're ready and take good care of yourself.
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It's a great relief to hear that forum members in the affected area are OK - my thoughts are with you all and the many thousands of NZers affected at this time. These most devastating times very much bring out the best in people and it's good to see the support and assistance being delivered.
Your very brief description Ross of the hotel evacuation engenders some quite horrifying images! Having only experienced some very low magnitude earthquakes, I can't imagine what it would be like to be in a building during intense shaking so close to the epicentre - hope it was a recent structure built to the new code. I'm glad you're here to tell the tale!
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Thanks, the hotel is built to withstand a magnitude 8
It's a great relief to hear that forum members in the affected area are OK - my thoughts are with you all and the many thousands of NZers affected at this time. These most devastating times very much bring out the best in people and it's good to see the support and assistance being delivered.
Your very brief description Ross of the hotel evacuation engenders some quite horrifying images! Having only experienced some very low magnitude earthquakes, I can't imagine what it would be like to be in a building during intense shaking so close to the epicentre - hope it was a recent structure built to the new code. I'm glad you're here to tell the tale!
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Good to hear you are fine, Ross. What a terrible experience.
Paddy
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It is 48 hours after the earthquake now & we are beginning to pick ourselves up - gather ourselves together one might say. I myself had a little more sleep last night so am steadier not quite so shocked & shaky. I think the majority of the community are feeling the same although we are emotional & sad. And it is very very sad & will take a long time before we find some form of normality again. Things will move very slowly this time but we will rebuild - of course we will - we have no choice - the damage to the city is enormous , there is not a building that has been spared. After the Sept earthquake people did feel more cheerful & feelings began to lift, we could say " At least we have had no deaths," but I'm afraid this time it will be much harder for everyone. All ready the students are out in force to do their magic & do their best to assist citizens & clean up the suburbs [they did a superb job following the Sept shake]. Aftershocks continue & this is adding to the tiredness and emotional fatigue, and stress is taking its toll on many. Rescue efforts by hundreds of search & Urban Rescue Teams from around New Zealand & Australia have continued & have never halted overnight. Huge resources from all over the world have become available in ChristChurch to assist us. Japanese Teams & additional Australian Task Forces have arrived with their support & expertise & this will greatly ease the situation.Also a medical team of Doctors & nurses has arrived this morning from Australia & an 1100 strong team of the Philippines Armed Force. Heartfelt thanks to them all for helping us. We who personally have experienced what we are beginning to feel is the norm' during an earthquake - that is the smashing & collapsing etc of material things & some structural damage & then maybe the inconvenience, of the absence of the water, power & sewerage systems, feel it is insignificant compared with the pain & anxiety many Christchurch folk are experiencing at the moment. Some power has been restored water & sewerage will remain a very big problem.
So there we are folks - just a little update on happenings & some of my own thoughts - we are very fortunate indeed to be on-line & to be safe & sound in our home.
Regards to all Edna
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After the Sept earthquake people did feel more cheerful & feelings began to lift, we could say " At least we have had no deaths," but I'm afraid this time it will be much harder for everyone.
I think you have the heart of the matter there, Edna. this is a different scenario altogether.
It is good to hear that such efforts are being made to help folks and I wish the rescuers great success finding survivors. Damage is damage but a life is precious.
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Good to hear you are well, Edna, and managing as best one can manage in such a situation. Hopefully, you and all around you will see progress over the coming weeks and get back to as near normal as possible.
Our best wishes are with you.
Paddy
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Edna sent me a PM which I tried to copy and paste here but the paste part wouldn't work. She mentioned that her old cat Jonty, who never leaves home, had vanished right after the quake and they thought he was gone for good and she was beginning to understand the heartache of those whose family members are missing, not yet found or identified. But Jonty has turned up, tired, dirty and hungry though otherwise unharmed. If only those missing persons could be so fortunate. Official death toll this morning is 103.
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Such a sad moment for you all down under, Lesley. Our thoughts are with you all....
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Thank you Chris, and thanks to everyone who is thinking of those in Christchurch. There has been such a fantastic response from people all around the world. Around 300 Australian police arrived today to supplement our own so that the Christchurch guys could get some rest and see to their own homes and families. Among all the SAR teams, civil defence, police etc, even those with severe damage to their own homes, have insisted on doing their jobs and helping where they can. Again the uni students are out with buckets, barrows and shovels cleaning up the silt. This liquifaction phenomenon is really an odd thing, one I'd not heard of until the Sept 'quake. It's many times worse this time.
Something I find heartening among the awful death toll, is that no-one so far as I have heard, who has been rescued even very badly injured, has since died. I mean, that everyone rescued alive, no matter how badly injured, remains alive. The head of the UK team of SAR guys said too, that in all his previous experience he had never dealt with such good organization by the local people and everything that could possibly be done to make the job easier and more successful, was being done. I guess it's the difference between a first world and a third world country and its infrastructure.
I feel a bit of a fraud talking about all this from Dunedin, when it is Christchurch that is affected, not my own home town. Edna has given a taste of the horror of it all and I can only talk about it as I see it from what is in the newspapers, on radio and TV. We've had tremendous coverage of course and it will go on, as the aftermath proceeds, in what seems a slow manner but as police said it is vital that everything is done absolutely correctly. An appalling thing it would be if the dead person were released to the wrong family. So the official IDs are coming in very slowly. Many are having to rely on dental records and DNA for positive IDs. Unfortunately no further live person has been found since Wednesday afternoon, but still we all hope for a miracle.
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It is estimated by engineers that a full one third of all buildings in the central business district, or rather the still cordoned off area, (about 1000 buildings,) are either damaged totally or will have to be demolished. It is expected that there will be NO business there for months to come. By last night 145 bodies had been retrieved. It is very frustrating for those who KNOW their people are still buried but not yet retrieved and for those whose loved ones are retreived but not officially identified and so not yet released back to families. There are deaths of people from about 20 countries, especially those around the Pacific basin and China but also from the UK and Europe and someone from the Czech Republic.
Most schools are still closed but some are given the green light to reopen next week. While buildings and grounds have been cleared in some cases, one or two teachers are missing and so many children are totally traumatised that it's hard to say how many schools will cope. Staff are still coping with their own traumas and damaged homes. Teachers and support staff from many schools around the whole country have volunteered to come to Christchurch to fill in positions.
Perhaps now is the time for Anthony and Vivienne to step up?
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Lesley,
As you might expect we have full coverage of this disaster in our national newspapers with an emphasis on the fates of Irish people in New Zealand and it continues to astound me when reading of the level of destruction and loss of life suffered in Christchurch. It will certainly take a very long time for life to get back to anything approaching normal.
Paddy
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Some years on - a rather inspiring story - and a little video - about a man badly injured in the 2011 earthquake and the new garden made by his wife and the pleasure and satisfaction it has given them :
"Canterbury woman Helen Coker has been named the 2016 Gardena Gardener of the Year by NZ Gardener.
Helen was nominated by her husband Brian who lost both his legs after being trapped under among broken beams in the PGC building, in Cambridge Tce, in the February 2011 earthquake. Brian put her name forward in NZ Gardener's annual search for horticultural superheroes to acknowledge Helen's tireless work to build the garden at their new property in West Melton. "
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/nz-gardener/74459531/the-garden-that-love-built-2016-gardena-gardener-of-the-year-winner-announced (http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/nz-gardener/74459531/the-garden-that-love-built-2016-gardena-gardener-of-the-year-winner-announced)