If you want a first-hand account that will have you reaching for a handkerchief, have a squiz at this article.
I spent just over a week in Christchurch, a few years back, and I know that Cuprum spent over six months there, so this disaster is a little closer to home than most. I hope your golfing buddy and his family have survived intact, mate.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Thanks Bearsy, talk about writing from the heart!
Just paged through all 72 photos, they give an idea of the scale of the disaster, tragic.
I just read the whole article- it made me cry. It is so important to see this from the sufferers perspective, as she says, in different words, not just a total of the body count.
Very vivid description of one womans trial in this terrible event. It’s been said many times before and it’s worth repeating, tragic events like this bring out the best and the worst in folk, some seem indifferent to the suffering and wander around taking pictures with their phones while others risk life and limb without a moments hesitation to go to the aid of a complete stranger. I was involved in an incident years ago when the IRA were placing and exploding bombs in central London. I was on a bus when there was a huge ‘bang’ and the whole bus rocked and shook, do you know what my first thought was? ‘I’m ok,’ so I can understand the jubilation shown by the two guys who emerged from the rubble in Christchurch, they should not be criticised in any way and neither should any one else who’s first thought is ‘I’m ok’ it’s an instant thing and very human. The bus I was on? One of the huge tyres at the back had exploded, no harm done to anyone but a few people were in shock as Londoners were somewhat keyed up with events that were, so it seemed, happening almost every day.
I hope the woman who filed this report and her family come through this ok.
The video clips I’ve seen have been horrendous, especially of distraught mothers wondering how their children are. My heart goes out to them. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law flew out of Christchurch at the end of their holiday two hours before the ‘quake struck.
Wow, Sheona, that’s close timing. Glad they got out.
That’s a close call, Sheona.
Thanks for the link Bearsy. My niece is still waiting for news of her husband’s parents who are in Christchurch. There is still hope; many must be in hospital without recourse to use a phone. The picture will be clearer in the next 24-48 hours. My brothers family are all on tenterhooks. There is yet hope many more will be saved. It seems unreal, such destruction in so civil and pleasant a place.
While I can understand the writer’s shock at the course events took and her initial reactions to what was going around her, I am not sure that it is fair for others to criticise those who went around taking photos. After all is that any different to writing about the event? The rest of the world wants to know what was happening. We have all been looking at the photos, reading and listening to reports of those who were there. Under the circumstances, she can be forgiven for making hasty criticisms of others, but she is a journalist and it is a journalist’s duty to report; which is what she has done. The thing is that in this era of instant communications, 3G phones, Twitter, Facebook etc, we are all capable of becoming reporters in situations such as this. Events in the Arab world are proof of that fact and thank goodness too. If one is brutally frank, taking photographs is more productive than sitting around smoking. People deal with catastrophies in different ways. I do think, however, it was harsh of her to mention her colleague who wet himself. If she had the presence of mind to write the article, she should have been aware enough to spare his feelings.
On a separate matter, friends of a friend have sold up here in SA and are in the process of moving to Christchurch, to escape South Africa’s crime. Now they are wondering if it is a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.
As my daughter, who two weeks earlier was on one of the tourist boats like the one that sank in Halong Bay, said “This family’s having too many close shaves.!
I’ve just read this and it’s a very vivid portrayal of the nightmare. I can imagine the anguish of not knowing if your family are safe.
I am not personally a devotee of such emotional sensationalism. Is one to assume that the newspaper that published this article was of a tabloid nature?
Much more to the point, these photos are in the worldwide media and I have been having a good look at them over the last couple of days. I found it more than interesting that a 6.3, 2 miles deep and epicentre 3 miles away could have wreaked quite such havoc. Struck me as excessive compared with other earthquake pics I have studied, so, some research.
I find that the building codes in NZ were only revised 5 years ago to accommodate earthquake shock.
Evidently the Canterbury Plains, being as flat as a pancake and exhibiting no signs of historical earthquakes in the geomorphology of the landscape was considered to be safe, not withstanding evidence from the geologists that not all was as it appeared and that building codes were inadequate. That lateral fault running from the mountains out towards Christchurch was known but considered inactive, unfortunately it was overlaid by fluvial glacial deposits of gravel and later marine alluvials of sand and clay. Such late quaternary deposits are still fluid and would ‘flow’ to accommodate subterranean changes, benches, slips etc would soon be removed from the landscape, so there is actually no way at all of telling when it fired off last.
The long and the short being that the buildings were woefully inadequate, no retrofitting seems to have taken place as observed from the photos and most of the office buildings, pre 5 years ago construction appear to be of the Chinese style of architecture, being pretty thin on the steel reinforcement.
Of even more concern are these pools of liquifaction, bubbling mud coming through the ground. These are not likely to be of a volcanic nature, more likely to be ground water or even worse, there are a group of rocks that become liquid under pressure without the benefit of water or heat.
This may well account for the level of destruction and why that hotel is now slumping and about to fall.
It may well be that it would be as well to abandon the current site of Christchurch, the cost of retrofitting is sometimes prohibitive and obviously all the two plus storey buildings would benefit from the treatment. To throw good money after bad rebuilding and retrofitting and still find that the city is upon ‘shifting sands’ (argillaceous clays/ talcs etc) so to speak is pretty counter productive. Plus the real bad news would be that anything 7.5 and above would be truly devastating with a death toll in the tens of thousands. They won’t do it yet but I wouldn’t want to live and work there and find out the hard way!
A very good thing that some people grab their cameras rather than falling into emotional heaps.
The piece was written while she herself was still in shock and she is recording her feelings, and gut reactions…
so although I agree with Sipu’s point of view and OMG’s very valid point, I also accept her reaction was a valid one for her –
No on knows how they themselves may react in a situation such as this – until we are put through it. Some people react out of their usual character and may look back and wonder at themselves.
I saw an excellent documentary of the tsunami, which used various amateur film clips and personal accounts of the disaster and this aspect of ‘reactions in a crisis’ was illustrated very well.
I can’t comment on how people behave in a crisis – I have no idea what I would do.
Thank you for the geology report, Christina. I wondered about the state of the buildings – I knew that there had been an earthquake in November (http://www.suite101.com/content/fresh-wave-of-aftershocks-after-christchurch-earthquake-a308592) and it would appear that that the earth has been rumbling under Christchurch since at least September last year. So I had assumed that it was widely known to be an earthquake-prone area and it surprised me that so few of the more modern buildings seemed to have been built to withstand quakes.
Obviously, the original settlers knew nothing about what was happening under their feet, but I assume that the geologists have understood for some time. It is a shame that they weren’t heeded earlier and the building codes revised a great deal sooner.
Thanks, Bearsy. That article is intensely personal and emotional.
Fascinating to read your take on things too, Tina. Good to have an expert in our midst.
New Zealand is sometimes known as “The Shaky Isles” from the large number of earthquakes it has suffered since settlement.
This was a new fault line.
For a balanced and professional assessment of the Christchurch geological situation, in contrast to Christina’s uninformed prouncements, Charioteers may wish to read this article in the Independent.
Thank you, Bearsy.
As far I was aware, it was Wellington which has always been the most vulnerable city in New Zealand, as regards earthquakes.
And yes, even I knew about the “Shakey Isles”.
I wonder about Mrs Osborne occasionally, but I don’t think she has much interest in either Australia or New Zealand.
Good string of comments on that Indy blog too, Bearsy.
I cannot begin to say whether or not Christina is correct with regards to her assessment, but I think it is rash, not to mention, discourteous, given that this is her field, to describe her pronouncements as ‘uninformed’. What I do know, is that Mrs Osborne is not a fool.
Pseu – thanks, I hadn’t read them, but you’re right. I loved the remarks about it being caused by –
🙂
I second that Sipu
Sipu – I note your remark.
However, Christina’s unnecessary slurs on Kiwi “Chinese construction” and ANZAC journalism generally, together with her erroneous assertion that this particular fault line was known about previously, contradicting Dr Roger Musson, Head of seismic hazards and archives at the British Geological Society, render her comments worthless.
Your own comments on the author of the original article are equally valueless.
Why is it, I wonder, that you and Christina appear to believe that you have been elected to a position which entitles you to make moral and value judgements on the actions of others?
As someone who throws a hissy fit when asked a simple polite question, and then follows it up by a self-justifying, whinging and embarrassing post, you are in no position to criticise anyone for their manners.
Really Bearsy how utterly predictable!
You really are too silly for words. Do you REALLY think I would write such things without verification?
I reference the most easily understood article to the layman.
http://drquigs.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
Dr.Mark Quigley is Senior Lecturer in Active Tectonics and Geomorphology in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. I think he might know a little better than the bloody London Independent!
You may apologise at leisure.
Patently obviously the building code was not up to scratch, exactly the same as the last Chinese quake and Haiti too. Chile, you note, was a different matter, all foreign aid was refused, not needed, they have one of the most stringent codes in the world and their quake last year was 8.8! What price what would have been left in Christchurch if Tuesday had been an 8.8? Sweet bugger all left standing.
Not poor standards of construction, merely totally inadequate for the job.
Oh deep joy.
My expert is better than your expert!
Christina, but really, you sound on slightly shaky ground here, which is unusual for you.
How about moral and value judgements on the actions of others? I think you are most certainly not in a good position to refute this.
Not actually interested Araminta in the human reaction, far too interested in the earthquake. It was of particular interest to me as it duplicates the conditions locally which is why I bothered to research it in the first place, the building codes and the historical geomorphology. I read these things on a daily basis, I find them interesting, far more so than humanity on the whole.
Precisely, Christina.
Your antipathy towards humanity in general is well known. Interesting that human beings wrote the building codes and inhabit these places.
The geomorphology is indeed interesting and written by human beings. There is a necessary, although not altogether desirable interaction between the planet and those who inhabit it, and maybe worthy of consideration.
We all have different interests, Christina, but to ignore humanity is a step too far, as far as I am concerned.
I don’t expect you to agree, though.
‘Interesting that human beings wrote the building codes and inhabit these places.’
Generally in blissful ignorance until after the event. Actually the only ones who have their act together are Japan, Chile and California from what I can gather, the rest leave a lot to be desired. Here in Washington, the retrofitting goes extremely slowly, so old buildings made of masonry are not at all desirable, Seattle to be dodged like the plague!
An interesting fact, private houses built on concrete rafts, however deep are far more likely to sustain damage than those built on brick sub foundations with suspended wooden floors. It is the lateral shaking not the vertical that does the most damage, houses on rafts cut lose and crumble, so modern houses are to be dodged too, they can be retrofitted with ties but it means wrecking all interior walls and people are not willing to pay for it to be done. So most houses are extremely vulnerable. Plus in the USA earthquake insurance is separate cover in prone areas and must be purchased from a specialist company in addition to ordinary cover.
Unfortunately most people are totally ignorant and repent at leisure when they have a pile of rubble and no money back to rebuild.
Ignorance is bliss until the shit hits the fan!
Geomorphology is ‘written’ by time, erosion and tectonics, not by people, they weren’t here at the time! Humans come along subsequently and imperfectly try to decipher the history of the landscape with very mixed results.
Must go, dinner time.
Christina, my dear.
I make no apology for pointing out that until September of last year, the fault line under Christchurch was unknown as a threat.
Dr Mark Quigley admits (in his undated article) –
This is not at odds with the statement by Dr Roger Musson, who was quoted by The Independent as saying –
In fact “your” guy says exactly the same as “my” guy.
Have a nice day, now. 😎
How nice that you can apologise for your no 15 with quite such munificence!
Which bit of –
don’t you understand, Christina? 🙄
I understand all too well!
No wonder you and Australia have quite such an affinity.
Hi Bearsy, thanks for this article – I’ve been on some busy shifts so haven’t been on the chariot for a while.
Phil and his family are fine thank you – their new enterprise, a bar in the CBD, is not looking so good though. The best news for him is that the golf course at Waimairi Beach is untouched (how does one do a smiley with tongue in cheek?)
All my former colleagues in MAF at the airport including Karen are all safe and well fortunately. It’s quite shocking to see so many places that I know well reduced to rubble.
As a geography graduate I ought to join the above debate but I feel a little rusty with my knowledge – all I would say is that Chch was never considered by the locals as in a risky zone and the damage this time was caused by two factors – the unseen damage from the September quake and secondly the shallowness of this one in particular. I do hope that Chch is rebuilt where it is.
Incidently – my mother and step father have just booked a 5 week camper van tour of NZ. I’m sure they’ll love it but I shall be slightly nervous for them!
Cuprum – that’s good news, thanks. My regards to them all.
I’m quite sure that an earthquake wouldn’t dare come within 50 yards of your honoured mother! 😆
Indeed, how right you are! 😀
… I should have said “revered mother”, of course! 😦