Hi Julia and Sandi,
Thank you for your concern. I am fine - I live in the middle of the North Island, the earthquake that struck in the early hours of Saturday was in Christchurch in the lower part of the South Island, about 1000km from Auckland. The earthquake has caused major damage in Christchurch and the surrounding areas. Thankfully no lives where lost.
The aftershocks continue, I heard on the radio that there had been eight today alone, ranging from 2.4 to 4.8 on the Richter scale. The actual quake measured 7.8 or there about, and was of the same intensity as the Haiti quake. Thankfully, Christchurch is not as densely populated and the buildings are of a higher standard - or the damage could have been a lot worse.
Many suburbs have been covered in mud - the result of liquefaction when the earth underneath has been rocked and water and mud has been squeezed upwards. They are starting to demolish buildings that have been condemned. There have been many historical buildings that have succumbed to the quake - Christchurch is New Zealand's second largest city. Homes have been graded according to damage. Those to be demolished, those to be repaired.
My friends Aunty, Uncle and cousins live in Christchurch - and apart from having no power and water for a bit, are all okay.
One of the phlebotomists at the lab where I have my blood done each week, flies to Christchurch each Friday to be with his wife and son - he told me it was very frightening to be woken by the earth shaking intensely at 4.30 am on Saturday morning, his son was very afraid.
It is going to be a long process of rebuilding the city and suburbs - and a long time for people to recover emotionally and mentally.
I am sure this quake will make many people throughout New Zealand put together Survival Packs - if they have not already done. Auckland is on a fault line, so it really does make you think.
I heard a very handy tip today which I will share with you - if water and sewage is out of service, line the toilet with a plastic heavy duty rubbish bag - making disposal easy. I won't elaborate further, but it is something very simple which could make a big difference in emergency circumstances.
Please pray for all those affected.
Vanessa
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