A friend who lives in Christchurch, NZ sent me this link..............

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We saw many of these buildings 2 1/2 years ago when the LOML and I visited Christchurch. The 3 major earthquakes they have experienced in the last 10 months have left the city looking like a war zone.

https://picasaweb.google.com/RossBeckerNZ/ChristchurchJuly7DiggersDemolitionInTheCBDRedZone# slideshow/5627310634430442002 (https://picasaweb.google.com/RossBeckerNZ/ChristchurchJuly7DiggersDemolitionInTheCBDRedZone# slideshow/5627310634430442002)

[John Fabre]

Wow, it doesn't look like too much is left.

[David G Baker]

Thanks for sharing Ken. Sad to see all of the damage and to hear about the loss of life.

[Bruce Page]

Ken, those are heartbreaking pictures. Thankfully, the human spirit will not be put down!

[Gary Hodgin]

I have enough problems with tornadoes around here, couldn't imagine an earthquake. No warning, nothing.

[Bob Curwood]

Actually Gary, we mostly do get a warning, in the form of an ugly, rumbling sound: perhaps for a second or two before an aftershock hits (it sounds like a giant underground troll - rubbing two large, rough, rocks together. Worse than fingernails on blackboard stuff).

When the quake hits, you have to decide quickly if it's a 'sit-it-out' one or a bigger 'run-for-the-hills' one.
The ones with warning rumbles are usually far away , something like the thunder/lightning effect. The really nasty ones though, shallow, higher magnitude, closer to home... they just hit, as you say - with no warning. And boy, does it make the adrenaline rise!

Center of town is off limits to most, and will be like that for months. So the suburban malls are seeing increased business, car-parks overloaded etc. And of course nearly every street has it's new cracks, uplifts, holes, broken seal and piles of liquefaction which dries rock hard.

It's not fun, but most Chch people are pulling together - I'm proud to see how well we are doing as a city!

BTW, if you get to visit here again,(please do) you wont recognise the place! Empty lots everywhere...
Bob

[John McClanahan]

I'm thinking tornados aren't so bad after all. But then, I don't live in Joplin!

John

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bob,

We will be back. The only thing we enjoyed more than the natural beauty of the country was the friendliness and attitude of the people of New Zealand.

[Craig D Peltier]

I have enough problems with tornadoes around here, couldn't imagine an earthquake. No warning, nothing.

Funny- people who live in earthquake zones think the opposite of what you said. Id much rather have an earthquake that most of the time does minor damage verse a tornado if it hits always rips something off or completely away. Plus being able to drive into one in the night or not hear it coming while asleep. Thats scarier to me.

[Bruce Page]

I just read in the paper that Christchurch got hit with another one last night. It didn't say how big.

[Bob Curwood]

I just read in the paper that Christchurch got hit with another one last night. It didn't say how big.

Lots of 'em - all the time Bruce!
There was a 4.2 about 3 am on the 18th, but anything less than a 4 we don't even worry about or comment on now.

Four so far today, 6 yesterday, 7 the day before... I believe the total is close to 10,000 aftershocks since the 7.1 last September. 'Mother Earth' is still upset it seems.

[Bruce Page]

Bob, I’m not sure I could handle that. I had just gotten out of the Army a few weeks earlier when the 1971 Sylmar, California 6.6 quake hit. I was 5 miles from the epicenter. I moved to New Mexico 5 years later..:)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bruce.....when Christchurch had that last major quake a few weeks ago, I sent an email to my buddy there. He responded that they had experienced 70 in the last 24 hours........it would get a little old to me.....

[Bob Curwood]

Bob, I’m not sure I could handle that. I had just gotten out of the Army a few weeks earlier when the 1971 Sylmar, California 6.6 quake hit. I was 5 miles from the epicenter. I moved to New Mexico 5 years later..:)

It's sure a wake-up call Bruce, 'glad you made it ok back then.

The closest one to our house (according to the official site here that tracks them), was right underneath the house that backs onto ours. Dunno how accurate they are though, or even if being right on top is better than being further away.

Maybe, like the 'eye of a storm' thing, it's better to be in the calm spot above the epicenter... :confused:

We didn't feel that one anyway, it was about 2 am or something and the owner says there was no extra damage that he could see next day. :eek:

As far as the multiple aftershocks go, I reckon it's a good thing - since presumably it's letting off steam down there - instead of the pressure building up to yet another biggie.

What with the '6 degrees of separation' thing I knew a few of the people who died, and that was hard to take - but none of my family or friends were physically hurt.

Lots of damage to household stuff of course, we're now on the last two dinner plates of a wedding present, and these days I tend to store things on the floor rather than put them in bookcases or cupboards :p (even though they are all (now!) firmly fixed to the walls)

Most of the aftershocks we are getting now are in the 2 to 3+ range, with the occasional 4 and a bit. The 4 to 4.6 (or so) don't do much damage (but that depends on how deep they are of course) while a 5 or more is a real jolt - both to the land and our nerves :rolleyes:

The thing that amazes me is that some of the earth movements are greater than 1G, so that for example a building could be lifted up and find the ground dropping away underneath it faster than the building can drop down again!

About the only good thing to come out of it so far, is the boy-racers (hoons, roaring around the streets in cheap cars) have had to give that up, as the new cracks and potholes in the roads mean they have to slow down like everyone else :)