A Letter from New Zealand

Hi Mary,

We are all so upset and in shock. It is a terrible event. 75 are confirmed dead with up to 300 missing. The aftershocks are big and frequent, causing more damage and distress. I am not feeling the quakes where I live. (Wellington, on the North Island) We never thought that Christchurch would be place where earthquakes like this would occur.

Thankfully our family members in Christchurch are unhurt, but have damage to their homes and possessions. One cousin’s home is completely destroyed. The damage this time is far greater than the first one. (Sept. 2010) It will take a long time just to recover basic services like sewerage, water and power.

The beautiful, historical city of Christchurch and Lyttelton, where I used to visit as a child, is changed forever. The Mayor there is amazing, as are the rescuers, police, firemen, army, medical people, and so many others. Professional people are now arriving from other countries to help. We so appreciate their assistance and kindness.

There is real concern over the 17-story hotel in the central business district. It is leaning to one side and looking about to fall. You can see a crack down one side from the top of the building and the top is sagging.

Some amputations have occurred to free people. Many severe crush injuries are being rushed to hospitals around the country.

My sister, who lives 100k south in Temuka, was badly shaken, she could not stand up when the quake hit, so it was not just the city of CHCH.

Her daughter and grandson are in ChCh so she traveled up with food and money as banks are non functional and food shops damaged. Everything in the house was smashed to pieces.

My sister had to take out a loan to help her daughter. We are helping from here where we can. They cannot use toilets or showers. Drinking water is being tanked in, but not enough to meet the needs.

There are still reports and stories of amazing rescues. We are glued to the live TV to keep up with what is happening- it's compelling but so dreadful. There is a lot you can pick up on YouTube. Here is a link to the spectacular glacial calving resulting from the quake. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/glacial-calving-after-earthquake-4039406

My Mum grew up in the areas so badly affected. She is so upset I spent much of today with her. She is 84 and lives about 9mins away from me.

Thank you for caring. It helps to tell someone. Your prayers are valued.

Glenis

The Human Face of the New Zealand Quake

Remember my friend Glenis Thomas? I blogged about her blueberry cookbook about a month ago. She lives in Wellington, NZ. I emailed her when I learned about the 7.2 quake on the news. She replied that she’d slept through the whole thing! Wellington, you see, is on North Island. The epicenter was near Christchurch, which is on South Island. However, she’s since been sending me links to the local media and sharing eyewitness accounts that you’ll never catch on international news.

It seems that New Zealand sits above an ongoing collision between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates. The country records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, but only about 150 are felt by residents. Fewer than 10 a year do any damage. Now Canterbury University geology professor Mark Quigley (OMG. Quigley Down Under?) says it looks like a new fault line has been ripped in the Earth’s surface. “We saw two houses that were completely snapped in half," he said.

As you can see, the greatest damage and debris is fallen bricks. Glenis tells me almost everything there is brick. Yet only two serious injuries were reported as chimneys and walls of older buildings were reduced to rubble. Prime Minister John Key said it was a miracle no one was killed. "If this had happened five hours earlier or five hours later (when many more people were in the city), there would have been absolute carnage in terms of human life," he told TV One News Sunday.

Then, in spite of flooding from broken water mains and total power and utility disruptions, the miracle stories began coming out. Glenis shared these with me:

One lady heard water running and stepped out of her house in the dark to see what it was. She promptly fell into a deep hole that had opened up and was suddenly up to her neck in liquid sand. Her teenage daughter was following right behind her but apparently offered little help. “The woman broke all her nails getting out,” Glenis reports. “Terrifying!”

A 15-year-old boy was asleep on the 2nd floor, his bed against the outside wall. When the quake woke him, he rolled over just as the outside wall of his bedroom ripped away. He fell to the ground as the interior wall collapsed onto his bed, escaping with only scratches and bruises! The house, a lovely country home, was completely destroyed.

A young woman awoke when her friend, screaming at her to get up, pulled her out of bed just as the outside brick wall collapsed onto the bed. She said she felt the brush of a falling brick go passed her head.

Glenis says the street in a new suburb must be right on the fault line. All the upscale homes there have been moved and twisted from their foundations. They are uninhabitable as are hundreds of others.

Wow, Glenis! I think I’ll stick to hurricanes!