NZ earthquake

Thank goodness you are safe and well Absent

Yes it is times like this when you need to cling to those you love and care about. Stay safe and well.

DS2 phoned me when he was woken by the earthquake at midnight (he's in Wellington). He said it went on for a long time and was quite fierce. Everyone who works in the city was told to stay at home on Monday, but he works in the hospital, so went in with all the other staff.
I've just been reading that there is a 30% chance of more quakes!

oh hilda- don't be hard on them- they probably have greater priorities in those times of real emergency

The worst affected town is Kaikoura hildajenniJ which is some way to the north of Christchurch. Its a well known tourist area for whale watching etc. Currently cut off due to landslides and massive damage to the highway. I don't think any indication that anyone in Christchurch is badly affected.
My son says there is quite a lot of damage in Wellington centre. His building OK but he expressed concern for businesses in buildings that have been damaged.

My cousin and his wife live near Christchurch. I haven't heard a word from him, although we are Facebook friends. My sister's and I are the closest family he has. Wouldn't you think he might let us know they are safe? I've been away for the weekend, I'll try to reach them tomorrow.

I forgot to say thanks for your concern.

It was magnitude 7.5 which is pretty big and seemed to last for an incredibly long time compared to previous earthquakes. Apparently, it was actually two quakes kind of crossing over each other, which resulted in both a rolling quake and a shaking quake – a sick-making experience. There were lots of aftershocks all night and all day yesterday and it looks as if they will continue for some months. There is also a possibility of another "biggie" in the coming months.

Two people have been confirmed dead and there have been lots of minor injuries. Quite a few roads and some bridges have been badly damaged. The quake, combined with the effects of the recent very heavy rain, has resulted in a fair few landslips. Everyone in the South Island is pretty shaken up – literally and figuratively.

Schools were closed in the South Island yesterday and my family, including absentdaughter and my ex, spent the day with me. I think we felt the need to be together for reassurance and unity.

Good to hear CrazyDaisy. Heard from Greatnan's daughter too and all the family is safe too (near Nelson as well).

It's a beautiful place; I can understand you wanting to stay there. Plus, from what I've heard, a way of life that some of us would like to live.

Thank you for your kind thoughts for those of us in NZ. Sadly two people have died due to the quakes this time, two too many, but at least it hasn't been like the 2011 ones.

It is a horrible feeling to be in an earthquake. We don't live in Christchurch but here in the Nelson area we were close enough to get a good shaking. DH and I just lay in bed holding hands and wondering how long and serious the shakes were going to be. Luckily not so bad that we had to get up and take shelter. Needless to say, although we did get back to sleep eventually, we didn't sleep well.

Sadly many people have had serious damage to their homes again and will have to go through months of assessment and waiting for repairs which is traumatic in itself. I do know someone whose house will probably have to be demolished after yesterday's quakes and it has only recently been repaired after earthquakes more recent than the 2011 ones.

We have family in Christchurch, who had to evacuate due to tsunami warnings but happily they are safe and well. They also had very little damage to their homes thank goodness. Family in Wellington had ornaments fall off shelves and break but that's all.

In spite of all this, we still want to live here in the "shaky isles". In our case we feel the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, but then, there's "none so weird as folks".

I was relieved to hear my sister and other family are all fine but very tired. When I heard from her this morning there had been 400+ tremors since the original one. If you're interested google Geonet.NZ which logs them all and makes for fascinating reading. A huge relief that this time the death toll is low. So sad to to see roads that we drove down in February buried under landslides. I experienced a 3.6 when in Christchurch in February and learned that the ground is not solid. A truly bizarre feeling. My heart goes out to all Kiwis, such lovely people. I'm sure their Kiwi spirit will carry them through.

Felipe there are different 'like' buttons on FB so if you want to you can post a heart or a face with tears which would tell you that someone is appreciating your post and feeling empathy for you or your situation definitely doesn't mean you like the crisis or problem I think that it is totally in order to use either of those buttons in the given situation Indeed my friend posted that she was safe and we all 'liked' it to show we were relieved she was safe I think your friend is not 'getting it'

It is a relief to know that many people are safe.
When I hear of these earth quakes the uncertainty of not knowing when the next quake will happen would outweigh for me the benefits of living in such a beautiful country. Ok for me to say but then I am not a NZ resident.

When you consider what technology has achieved in the last hundred years eliminating certain diseases, landing a man on the moon, warning of tropical storms, tornados etc to name but a few. But no one has knowledge of or does not appear to have of an impending earthquake. That knowledge would not prevent it but at least lives could be saved knowing it is going to happen.

Some people are a bit behind with the workings of facebook felice and automatically just click the "like" button to show they have read the message. facebook recently introduced several faces to convey emotions and there is actually a sad expression to use. It is taking time for people to use them.

I suppose 'liking' a Facebook page is just acknowledging it. What else can people do to show they've seen it and feel for them?

A dear friend is near Wellington, he has been posting on FB in real time and asked people to please stop 'liking' his posts as it really was not appropriate.
He and other friends are fine but you have to wonder at the automatic liking of posts.

...and thanks for thinking of us ninathenana

My son and family in Auckland are fine although he is due in Christchurch on Thursday with his job so fingers crossed there's no more My friend in Wellington didn't feel it

We have young friends over there too, hoping they are all OK.

Absent is ok. Shaken, unsurprisingly, with lots of aftershocks and I am sure she will soon pop up on GN and reassure everyone. I have young friends in Sumner near
Christchurch. They have indicated that they are ok but very tired.

I was wondering about absent too.

Yes; thoughts are with everyone there and those who have friends/relatives there also.

Hope our friend Absent is okay. Not sure which part of NZ she lives in though.

A friend of mine lives near Wellington she slept through the quake but was woken by the first aftershock.

My Aunt lives in Christchurch - she is ok but she's 89 and I think it's all getting too much for her. Her house was damaged in the previous big earthquake and has only just been repaired. They've had hundreds of after- shocks throughout these years and now another big one. Christchurch is dying I fear.