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Quake hits New Zealand

 
 
hingehead
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:09 pm
@KiwiChic,
Glad you are safe and jealous of your easy access to sauvignon blancs
KiwiChic
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:12 pm
@hingehead,
Thank you...and funny enough I am drinking a glass of Whitecliff Sauvignon Blanc as we speak!
0 Replies
 
canadian girl
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:19 pm
@KiwiChic,
Does anyone know if it has caused a lot of damage in Westport? My parents are there and I can't reach them. Thank you,
KiwiChic
 
  2  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:24 pm
@canadian girl,
The phone lines are down, I think Westport is fine but phone coverage is out, just keep trying.
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:27 pm
@hingehead,
I second that, KiwiChic! Smile
0 Replies
 
Butrflynet
 
  2  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:29 pm
@KiwiChic,
KiwiChic wrote:

The phone lines are down, I think Westport is fine but phone coverage is out, just keep trying.


No, don't keep trying. Authorities have asked people to text each other rather than trying to make calls. One of the major telephone networks is down.
KiwiChic
 
  2  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:33 pm
@Butrflynet,
Yeah but for international people they should try and phone.....I know I bloody well would if it was my parents....no offence intended.
Her parents may be elderly and not able to text, maybe.
0 Replies
 
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:41 pm
@canadian girl,
According to this site:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb0001igm.php

Quote:
NEAR Christchurch, New Zealand
225 km (140 miles) SSE of Westport, New Zealand
305 km (190 miles) SSW of WELLINGTON, New Zealand
310 km (190 miles) NE of Dunedin, New Zealand



In the '89 Loma Prieta quake, Oakland and San Francisco (where I was located) were about 75 miles from the epicenter and experienced extensive damage in certain areas of the cities. Other, more modern areas of the cities were mostly untouched. According to the above, Westport is twice as far in distance from the epicenter. Your family probably had stuff knocked off shelves, but probably didn't sustain extensive structural damage.

How did they do during the September quake? Was there much damage then?
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:44 pm
@hingehead,
hingehead wrote:

Ha! Now I have to look up 'mullered'


http://onlineslangdictionary.com/definition+of/mullered
0 Replies
 
canadian girl
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 10:47 pm
@Butrflynet,
Thank you all for replying... I will keep trying!!! They are savvy text-ers too, so I am doing that as well. They are just visiting NZ from Canada. Thank you all.
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:01 pm
@canadian girl,
Ah, no wonder you are anxious about them.

Were they staying at a hotel? If so, do you know the name? If it is a chain hotel, maybe you can call their headquarters in the morning to see if they have any news on the hotel structure there.

If you want some help looking for details about it, post (or PM me) the name of the hotel and I'll do some sleuthing.
hingehead
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:08 pm
@Butrflynet,
Sheeit.

KiwiChic
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:20 pm
@hingehead,
Our Prime Minister has just announced he has been given figures of 65 people dead...gaaawd.
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:21 pm
@hingehead,
That's quite a crack in the street that SUV was driving through.

Oh my, is that large box-shaped white building the one they believe has 200 people trapped in it?


Some of those areas look a lot like it did in Santa Cruz and the older parts of Oakland and I recognize the same, shocked, dazed and vacant eyes of some of the people. I have a lot of empathy for them.

Some of those buildings look extremely fragile. No wonder they are trying to evacuate people out of the center area. They look like they could collapse if someone sneezes loudly enough.
hingehead
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:21 pm
@KiwiChic,
Bloody awful.
0 Replies
 
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:25 pm
@Butrflynet,
Why hasn't an area so earthquake prone done more to get their older building structures reinforced? Oakland and Santa Cruz had the same problem.

It looks as if the modern buildings with parking garages beneath them were also the most vulnerable. That's where most of the damage was in San Francisco other than the Bay Bridge.

California and New Zealand will have a lot of structural notes to share with each other after this.
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:29 pm
Helicopter footage of Christchurch area damage:

http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-Helicopter-footage-of-Christchurch-after-quake/tabid/309/articleID/199342/Default.aspx
msolga
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:38 pm
Latest ABC (Australia) update.

A terrible situation.


Quote:
Race to rescue trapped quake survivors
Updated 8 minutes ago

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201102/r722856_5758115.jpg
Rescuers stop to listen for sounds from survivors. (Getty Images: Martin Hunter)

Screams can be heard from people trapped inside the scores of buildings destroyed by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that has rocked the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

At least 17 deaths have been confirmed and the city's emergency services are being stretched to the limit as they begin a widespread rescue and recovery operation.

Details of the overall devastation remain sketchy, but dozens of buildings have collapsed or been severely damaged, while many roads have buckled and streets are flooded by burst water mains.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck near the city at a shallow depth of just four kilometres shortly before 12:50pm (local time) with the city at its busiest.

Television pictures show bloodied people being helped along city streets by rescuers.

Police said central city was being evacuated, with deaths reported at several locations including two buses crushed by falling buildings and the implosion of a local youth hostel.

Hospitals across the South Island are clearing patients to make room for the injured.

Christchurch Hospital has not been evacuated and is in operation, while three triage centres have been set up in Central City, Sydenham and Papanui.

The city's gas lines are being shut off to prevent further leaks and police are advising those who have evacuated their homes or buildings to report to their closest civil defence sector post.

Reports suggest there are no more ambulances available and that police had taken to evacuating those injured in their squad cars.

A number of buildings in the city centre are ablaze. Helicopters are dumping water on the burning CTV building and emergency crews are trying to pull down walls to access the fire.

Rescue teams are roaming the streets using sniffer dogs to locate survivors and bodies....<cont>


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/22/3145681.htm
0 Replies
 
ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:42 pm
@Butrflynet,
Same with the Northridge Earthquake that had the worst damage in Northridge and Santa Monica (near us) - re the type of buildings. That one was a 6.7.

But, back to this one in New Zealand, terrible, especially for the trapped people.
Butrflynet
 
  1  
Reply Mon 21 Feb, 2011 11:44 pm
@Butrflynet,
That helicopter footage really shows how damaged some of those buildings are. The building across from the church looks like someone took an axe and just chopped it down the middle. I sure wouldn't want to be standing on that roof with all those construction guys looking at the damage. They're very brave for doing that.
0 Replies
 
 

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