This is why we're called the shakey isles

[ora_wai]

So there was this really big earthquake here. Not literally here, right where I am, but here in lil ol NZ. It's quite surreal to think of it - a 7.1 quake just 30km from our second largest city and no one died. It really says something about first world infrastructure, when you consider that Haiti had a 7.0 quake that devastated large areas and

Comments

[miniglik]

That's nuts. But awesome that no one got hurt. Yay for infrastructure!

The little cul-de-sac my house is built on loses power about once every other month (and that's better than our first year here), so we actually (finally) have a generator. I just have to remember to keep some gas around for it.

[ora_wai]

Yay for only some houses and roads being screwed.

Every month? That's absurd!

[spectralbovine]

Glad you're okay!

[ora_wai]

And we have now have provisions for if it happened in Auckland (unlikely, we have v few large fault lines and it would prob be because Rangitoto or one of the other 12 volcanos we live on, blow up!)

[omoo]

The contrast between the two regions is striking. I hope that Haiti gets to rebuild to a first world standard.

Hopefully people in Christchurch won't be out of their homes for to long- there was a really charming couple on the news here, who were sleeping in their car instead of their 5th floor apartment.

Ouch to how your mom saved you!

[ora_wai]

Something tells me that it won't - haven't new shanty towns been built over the old ones?

Most of the people are fine with the aftershocks now, although there was a really shallow 5.2 one that caused a little bit of shock (my cousin was driving to work and thought his car would flip!). It's more "Was that an aftershock?" "Yup" "Goodo".

[catatonia00]

Whoa, bananas. It's been a couple of years of calamity all over the world, huh? I guess mother nature's name is Jane and she's turned into a bitch on wheels because of all our misgivings. It's just an onslaught of disasters.

I have clients who work as medical and military specialists constantly training for natural disasters. And everytime they go off on missions, I'm always praying for them.

Glad to know your area is unaffected. Stay safe, dear. Hope people in the South Island recover from this.

[ora_wai]

Isn't it just crazypants how much this sort of shit is happening now? Maybe it was because I was a kid in small town NZ, but I swear there wasn't this level of disaster in the world before.

It's rather ironic but Volunteer Service Abroad is advertising for people to come volunteer at disaster zones overseas....including pictures of various quakes. I bet Chch people are loving it!

[ankai]

Sweet that no one died. Still, I read that almost two/thirds of the homes were destroyed. What are the plans for the newly homeless?

[ora_wai]

Someone did die! A lemur at the local zoo died from shock.

Only about 20% are gone, and most of that are old brick buildings in the CBD (those are being torn down). There are quite a few written off in Kaiapo, like the local supermarket, and houses that are built on the new land. Short term, there are welfare centres, people are staying with family in undamaged areas, and long term we have the Earthquake Commission which has a few billion to hand out to people/councils to rebuild (which comes out of everyones insurance premiums) and people have private insurance. We're resilient, we will rebuild and take more reclaimed land.

[ankai]

So not at all as bad as I had heard. Good.

Too bad about the lemur, though. I like lemurs.