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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 4 Sep 2010
Nigel Marx's Avatar
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Location: South Island, New Zealand
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It's not every day that..........
..... that you get woken at 4.35am by a 7.1 earthquake, of 70 seconds
duration (it was all I could do to hold on top the floor..), followed a few minutes later by another large one, with 30-40 large aftershocks (one rolled thru exactly as I typed that!!) in the 3.1 to 5.4 range, and dozens of smaller ones. That's what happened here in Christchurch, New Zealand today. The thing that amazed me was that we never lost the phones or cellphones the whole time, had internet the whole time, only had the water and sewer out for a couple of hours, and the power was back up by 11.00am. Haiti's recent bad one was 7.0.

Every house around us has structural damage, and we have a small crack in
one window..... You DO get lucky sometimes.

Greatfully wishing you all cheers,

Nigel in The Shakey Isles
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  #2  
Old 4 Sep 2010
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Hey Nigel,
Gud to hear frm you and note u r safe.
experiencing a 7.1surely is nerve racking.Pray for a speedy recovery.
TC,mate.
egbert
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  #3  
Old 4 Sep 2010
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Great to hear from you Nigel. The earthquake is headline news up here (UK). From what we can see, it must have been a VERY scary experience.

I attended your HU mini-meeting of Saturday February-21 last year [2009], so I know exactly where you live in Christchurch. During that particular visit to the City my temporary base was in nearby Lyttelton .. .. Hey, now there's a thought .. I do hope the Lyttelton-Christchurch road tunnel is still in one piece [.. :confused1:]

Relying on media and other anecdotal reports can sometimes be misleading, so please keep us informed about the real extent of the damage sustained. In addition to knowing both Lee and yourself, I also have other good friends who live in Christchurch and neighbouring townships .. and with this mind, I again ask that keep us up-to-date with the situation.

Good luck - and best wishes to you all down under

KEITH


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  #4  
Old 4 Sep 2010
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Glad to hear you and New Zealand are still in one piece !
[Or should that be two pieces :confused1: --North and South]
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Last edited by Dodger; 5 Sep 2010 at 06:30.
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  #5  
Old 4 Sep 2010
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Hey Nigel,
Great to hear you and your community came through relatively unscathed!
Earth Quakes are super scary events ... I was in middle of the Loma-Prieta
quake in '89 in San Fran Bay area. Also lived through a couple good ones in L.A.

People bitch and moan about building codes and complain they want "govt. off my back". In this case one can appreciate building codes and regs. Saves lives.

Look at Haiti compared to Chile. Almost no loss of life in Chile ... Haiti ? Well, when you use Sea water and Beach sand to mix up cement your re-bar is not going to last too long.

All the old San Francisco houses built on "Bay Fill" became the victims of
"liquafaction" were the soft ground really moves around A LOT, buildings collapsed.

Check out the pics from '89 to realize how lucky you guys were!

Loma Prieta Earthquake - Google Search

For a few days after the Quake all was chaos. Being on a bike was great, you could get anywhere ... and fast ... using sidewalks, yards, riding round road blocks. The cops never paid us any mind. Like a Post Apocalyptic scene. Strange and quite scary ... but in such a world the motorcycle was a life saver.
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  #6  
Old 4 Sep 2010
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i have read the news on bbc. i am very glad to hear that there is only a couple of injuries and not a single death.

i have lived the Turkey earthquake which was 7.4 back in 1999 when i was in the army. Carried tents and other first aid kids for 3 months.

Anyway, i hope this would not repeat again anywhere.
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  #7  
Old 5 Sep 2010
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My thoughts are with all the people of Christchurch and the surrounding region.
Like most people I've spoken to in Queenstown, I didn't feel a thing and was astounded when I saw the coverage on TV.
We had a bigger quake here last year, magnitude 7.8, but the epicentre was some distance away in a remote area and there was very little damage.
Even so, it was a most unpleasant experience and I can barely imagine what a nervewracking experience yesterday morning's quake would have been for the people of Christchurch... not to mention the massive problems now being faced by those who've lost their homes.
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Old 5 Sep 2010
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Kia Ora Nigel,

I am glad to hear that you are well and that the damage is relatively minor given the size of the quake. I have no doubt that you hard working Kiwis will have your beautiful city back in great shape in no time.

Cheers
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