© @danielbullen / Twitter
It has been a turbulent week on many levels.
More background on this will come in a future post, but on Sunday Family Kiwidutch were having lunch with extended family when the sort of phone call everyone dreads left me breaking out in a cold sweat.
The friend on the other end of the line sounded very worried, the message: ” There’s been a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in New Zealand, you need to turn on the News…”
I started shaking, anyone even remotely au fait of how the Richter scale works knows that this is not “just another quake“, this is a terrifying, Godzilla sized earthquake.
My heart was racing as I excused myself from the group, pulled out my phone and started dialing New Zealand family and friends.
Himself did the same from his phone: luckily everyone is safe and well and any possible damage that may come to light, although heart breaking and soul wrenching after all these years of painstaking rebuilding, is in the end… …only stuff.
I got to News sites as quickly as possible, the epicenter seems to be slightly south of Hanmer Springs, our preferred mountain bolt hole whenever we visit New Zealand.
First and foremost Kiwi’s (the nickname for New Zealanders) will see that everyone throughout the affected communities are ok, from the very young to the very old. That water, food, electricity and other essentials are in order, then to get the roads, bridges etc back open … and then the rest of the clean up begins.
Only after that will we assess damage reports (if any), some time in the coming days… that’s what reams of insurance papers are for, right?
Kaikoura on the north of the east coast on the South Island is the largest community closest to the epicenter. Currently cut off by road from the outside world, the problem is not just the millions of tons of debris have to be cleared from the road but that in many cases entire hillside slopes above the mess have to be stabilized before it can be declared truly safe. A popular whale watching spot, with 2000 locals, there are also an estimated 1200 tourists are trapped in the town, but if past experiences are anything to go by, these tourists will not be left in the lurch as locals rise to the occasion and take excellent care of their guests.
Needless to say that is exactly what has been happening. I’ve been looking at various news sites and there is a Rescue mission on the way for Kaikoura and the link tells me that: “After feeding 700 people the clean up begins at Takahanga marae, local business owner Dexarelli helps out.”
(Photograph © RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King)
The piece then went on to say that: “Adelphi Bar and Restaurant chef Jason Timms said the crayfish would normally be destined for restaurants such as his, but they are all closed, many with extensive damage.”
(Photograph © RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King)
Four NH90 helicopters will begin the evacuation of the first 200 people from Kaikoura today, and their efforts will continue because damage to the town’s reservoir mean that drinking water will soon be in short supply. On the lighter side, although Kaikoura tourists get the earthquake “experience” and a helicopter ride for free, if the crayfish dinners continue, some of them may be reluctant to leave!
© SNPA / David Alexander
My father told me on the phone that this big earthquake had a long rolling movement. Rather than the sharp jolts of previous big quakes this was like the house was floating and rolling on waves on the sea, but some of the rolls were really big.
The weird noises that the ground and house made were creepy, but the thing that scared my step-mother and him most by far was the seriously long duration of the quake.
Earthquakes that carry on for more than a minute wear down the resilience of manmade structures so it’s a testament the strength of the New Zealand building codes that there are NOT buildings pancaked all over the country.
It’s also unusual that this was felt from Dunedin to Auckland, as a comparison, NZ is roughly the length of France, so that’s a big area for one quake to reach.
Strangely too, early reports suggest that this is NOT our biggest “Trans Alpine fault” system that went, but a series of faults closer to the extreme edge of the east coast. That would be the same as a quake that size hitting California and it running along the actual coastline but not the San Andreas fault… if this is true then who knows what it all means… is the “big one” still yet to come???
Regular readers know that I constantly take photographs when we are out and about in the car. Our trips along State Highway One when we are in new Zealand are no exception. I didn’t manage to request permission to post these photographs, but I have given full credit and some links back to the pages from whence they came. I hope that this is permissible.
I hope that between the links back to my photographs and theirs we can give “before” and “after” views of what has to be one of the most scenic main trunk highways any country can boast of.
It’s just such a shame that it is now in the news for all the wrong reasons. It looks like New Zealand almost dodged the bullet when it comes to loss of life. My prayers and thoughts go out to those who lost loved ones. For the rest of us, the time, effort and cost of getting this very important road operational again will have to be borne, but meanwhile it’s the worry about family and friends that really gives me the shakes.
A few of Kiwi’s previous blog posts: Traffic Jam Kiwi-Style: Roads, Tunnels, The Coast …and Nature’s Nudists!
Whooo Whooo …catching a train, and dolphin (with a car and a helicopter!)
(Note: The dark area in the bottom right of the photo below is not the high tide mark, it is the sea floor that has been pushed up by the quake)
© The Associated Press
From: NZ News: 7.5 magnitude earthquake in pictures
“A railway line is damaged by an earthquake, near Tirohanga stream south of Blenheim.”
© Anthony Phelps / Reuters
Pic: Sgt Sam Shepherd/Courtesy of Royal NZDF
Various other photographs…
© @alexperro / Twitter
© @alexperro / Twitter
© Garden City Helicopters
Written in the dust on the car: “driver out & safe“.
© @henrymcmullan / Twitter
© @henrymcmullan / Twitter
© @henrymcmullan / Twitter
Marlborough District Council
© ANTHONY PHELPS / Reuters
© @dickbricknell / Twitter
© Stuart Smith / Facebook
