in last two hours.
Second major earth quake in 6 months. Epicentre was only a few miles away from Christchurch. Much damage and a number of fatalities.
We are seeing live pictures of trapped victims and as I post a person was rescued from the top of a collapsed hotel.
To my NZ colleagues I trust that you have not lost any love ones and my thought are with you.
You can watch live feed from below link
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/
RADU
Seems that the previous earhquake weakened structural
integrity of major buildings , so this time many of them have now collapsed!
Sadly there are going to be many fatalities, City has run out of ambulances, now stinking sewer is bubbling to surface.
RADU
Seems that the previous earhquake weakened structural
So sad, it sure seems like you folks down under have had more than your share as of late.
Seems that the previous earhquake weakened structural
🙁 Dislike!!! 🙁
Our prayers go out to the people of New Zealand. :love:
Angel.. First death toll report of 65 many missing, buried
This is scary stuff as Christchurh is tiny in comparison to US cities.
If U get that big one on west coast it will be horrific.
RADU
Angel.. First death toll report of 65 many missing, buried
One life lost is too many but compare it to Haiti...California hasn't had the "Big One" but we had the 1994 6.7 Northridge quake in LA where 33 lives were lost and the 1989 Loma Prieta 6.9 quake in San Francisco where 57 lives were lost. Earthquakes are destructive events but their effects can be limited with proper preparations. Good luck to the recent victims and hopefully the survivors can count their blessings that they don't live in a more vulnerable place like Haiti was(is).
Angel.. First death toll report of 65 many missing, buried
> One life lost is too many but compare it to Haiti...California hasn't had the "Big One" but we had the 1994 6.7 Northridge quake in LA where 33 lives were lost and the 1989 Loma Prieta 6.9 quake in San Francisco where 57 lives were lost. Earthquakes are destructive events but their effects can be limited with proper preparations. Good luck to the recent victims and hopefully the survivors can count their blessings that they don't live in a more vulnerable place like Haiti was(is).
I grew up with quakes my entire life. Could never get use to them but I think tornadoes & tidal waves are scarier!! There have been some huge quakes in other cities/countries that hardly phased those cities/countries because they built accordingly and earthquake proofed the place. There's so many different factors as to why a 7.0 does hardly any damage in once place but then a 5.0 will do major damage in another. Haiti was very heartbreaking...still is. Now Christchurch. Hopefully Christchurch gets help/aid ASAP and does not have to become another Haiti. 😐
RADU contacted me last night and asked if I could update when able. Crews have been working throughout the night trying to locate survivors in the collapsed buildings. They have had some success but now are finding more bodies than people who are still alive. Currently the confirmed death toll is 75 with an estimated 300 still missing. From what I have seen on the news report I suspect the estimate of the missing is low because the earthquake struck just as people were returning to their places of work after lunch. Also, there is still a lot of confusion.
It has also been report that people are getting out of Christchurch in large numbers. Their nerves are shot and cannot take the after shocks. We felt the earthquake down here in Dunedin but no damage. We are far enough away and in the wrong direction compared to the fault line. There is a chance some of our friends from Christchurch might come and visit us soon.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. The people of Christchurch are strong but they will need all of the help that they can get to get through this and rebuild. No chance of it becoming another Haiti as we have a national emergency system in place to organize the response to this type of event. When you are known as the Shaky Isles you are generally prepared for an earthquake but nothing can stop one destroying buildings and deaths are always hard to take. We are fortunate to have good friends around the Pacific Rim, particularly Australia, who have experienced similar events and are able to help. Some of their emergency earthquake response teams were in the air within hours of the earthquake and are adding their efforts to our crews on the ground. It will be a long process but Christchurch will be rebuilt.
I'll try to update when more information becomes available.
Kind Regards
Fraser
Christchurch New Zealand
Welcome to Beerleg, Fraser!! :clap: :beer:
Thank you for coming and updating us. Please feel free to return as much as you want and update us. We appreciate it!!
We're watching the news right now on the quake. News says it was an aftershock to another quake last year. The images coming out of Christchurch are very heartbreaking. 🙁 I pray help arrives fast and people are taken care of ASAP. :love:
Christchurch New Zealand
I'm afraid we are going to repeat that in San Francisco some day soon only on a much larger scale, City wise.
The northern 1/3 of the San Andreas fault has not unloaded since 1906.
Angel.. First death toll report of 65 many missing, buried
Head down south for hurricane season.
Christchurch New Zealand ...David they have said today
that the fault line through Christchurch is on the opposite side of the tectonic plate to that in California....
RADU
Christchurch New Zealand
> I'm afraid we are going to repeat that in San Francisco some day soon only on a much larger scale, City wise.
>
> The northern 1/3 of the San Andreas fault has not unloaded since 1906.
It would not surprise me, but I would not like to see this happen by any means. :-/
Wasn't a big quake also due for So Cal??
I just got this from a friend, a retired firefighter:
For those who may be interested, here is more about my trip through New Zealand.
I had turned in my motorcycle in Christchurch and planned on hanging around there for a few days and relaxing. I hung around but it wasn't relaxing! I was in the Christchurch area of Lyttelton at a coffee house when the quake hit. Lyttelton was the epicenter of the quake and even though it was a 6.3, the quake originated close to the surface so it was BIG and there is a lot of damage. My first reaction was to run into the street. Out in the street I looked up and saw bricks and parts of buildings raining down so I ran like hell out of the way. Then I went back in because I knew the coffee house was full of families. I had to force the door open and help people out. Most of them had already run out a back door. I spent the day helping the fire department search for victims ( I didn't find any) and do whatever I could to help.
Lyttelton is connected by a tunnel to the rest of Christchurch but the tunnel was blocked. I had to spend the night there and ride out the after shocks. The after shocks were HUGE and came about every 20 minutes. You could hear them coming. I didn't sleep much.
The next day I got a ride over a pass towards the center of Christchurch. The road had huge boulders that had come down and were rolling off the hills above us. Some of them hit cars and houses. Parts of the road had slipped away or cracked. These people got me as close to my hotel as possible then I started walking. There were buildings down everywhere and some fires. I managed to talk the police into letting me through to my hotel which was close to the Christchurch Cathedral. It felt like a movie as I walked to the hotel, people in shock trying to leave the center of town, smoke and dust from the collapsed buildings, crushed cars and cars and trucks which had sunk into the streets because of liquefaction.
My plan was to try and get my luggage then search for my buddy Jeff, the guy I had been riding through New Zealand with. The hotel was badly damaged and evacuated but after explaining what I had been doing helping in Lyttelton they let me go up to the fifth floor and get our stuff. The room looked like somebody had put it into a blanket and shook it. Our things were everywhere. I found most of it and packed it. The hotel people told me that everyone had been evacuated to a park near the airport.
I finally got a hold of Jeffs' wife back in the USA and she told me Jeff was at the airport so I headed for there but that is another story for another day. Anyway, I'm o.k. but I really feel for the people of Christchurch. They are so nice and have lost so much.
