BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 22 Feb 11 - 03:58 AM

Today... Here is a short article.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Brian May
Date: 20 Jan 11 - 01:23 PM

I'm waiting for my wife and daughter to come on Skype.

Their house is about 3 miles from the epicentre (just south of Prebbleton) of the latest aftershocks, last night (NZ time).

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Gurney
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 09:41 PM

Thank you, Sandra. Or Snadra. Our problems are much more localised than yours. From what we hear, those parts of Oz that aren't on fire are under water. Best wishes to you, too.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 06:29 PM

I can;t find anything on ABC News site - maybe our news services are too busy with our floods, but such big news about our neighbour should be big news here, too

best wishes

snadra

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Gurney
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 03:02 PM

Gnu, I've lived in Auckland since 1974, and I've never felt an earthquake.   Hope that's not famous last words. Auckland is an isthmus composed mainly of volcanos, extinct ones, we hope, but the scientists say not.
A social commentator, not a scientist, tossed in his theory this morning that the ChCh earthquakes are a new faultline forming.

The White Island to Egmont fault that Robyn spoke of is very real.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 02:02 PM

STOP THAT!

And stay safe.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Jan 2011
From: Little Robyn
Date: 19 Jan 11 - 01:58 PM

It's on again - the aftershocks.
5.1 this morning - just a couple of hours ago.
No damage reported yet but some of the old buildings won't take much more.
There have been several quakes in different parts of the country, including around here but they were not very big and I didn't feel them.
This page keeps changing but right now it looks a bit scary, with quakes on both islands and a straight line from White Island, through Rotorua to Mount Taranaki (Egmont). When that joins up the whole of the North Island could split!
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Dec 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 28 Dec 10 - 02:26 PM

Well things seem to be quietening down again and they're hoping to remove the cordons from around the CBD shortly, so shoppers can go back in.
There may still be a problem at New Year - usually Cathedral Square is full of revellers around midnight and beyond but the authorities are looking for a different venue to hold the festivities.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 03:48 PM

Gosh! Same hopes here.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: ChrisJBrady
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 03:24 PM

Jeeze - hope you guys are OK. We had a quake in Cumberland a few days ago too. Chris B.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 01:59 PM

The problem with the Boxing Day quakes was that most of them were centred just under the city centre and they were shallow!
So buildings that had survived the original (which was centred out in the country, several miles from Christchurch) were really hit this time.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 08:03 AM

I've been listening to news reports, thanks for the pics

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury
From: Little Robyn
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 04:46 AM

They're still having aftershocks - around 3 on the Richter scale and between 2 and 6 each day.
But on Boxing day, at 10.30am there was another biggie - 4.9!!! There were 32 quakes in one day! Then a 4.4 just after midnight that night.
Buildings and houses that had survived the first bout have been hit by this lot. Shops open for Boxing Day sales - the biggest day of the year for retailers, had to be closed and streets sealed off again.
Some more pictures here.
My brother Terry has rented out his house in Kaiapoi and moved to Palmerston North!
Very sensible!
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Brian May
Date: 04 Nov 10 - 08:59 AM

My daughter lives in Lincoln, just south of Christchurch. Fortunately, the worst that happened to them, in their 4 year old house, was that the speakers fell off the wall.

The aftershock count is up around 2500 when I last looked, many of them between Prebbleton and Lincoln.

It's awful being in UK while she and her partner are undergoing all this. She's due to give birth in February, so I hope it's only the earth that's dishing out shocks!

Best wishes to all affected, we wish you all a nice quiet summer to get over it.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 04:07 PM

Gosh. Ditto on the "hang in there".

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Gurney
Date: 03 Nov 10 - 03:36 PM

And still it goes on! Two aftershocks last night, over scale 4. Daily since the big one.

It doesn't even make much of a headline here in NZ!

They are a bit sick of it in ChCh.

(That is understatment, by the way!)

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 03:05 PM

from The Press in Christchurch.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 03:03 PM

from New Zealand Herald

There is concern that people not directly affected are losing interest..

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 02:44 PM

I've just heard from a friend who lives near the Cashmere hills, on the outskirts of the city. She says:
"We survived but the house has lots of internal cracks and 11 windows are cracked. The hardest thing has been the lack of sleep. You can't help waking up when there's an aftershock but it's not so easy to go back to sleep. Do you remember the clay pits down on Centaurus where your ancestor met his death? The two Victorian brick houses next to them are cordoned off and have a red sticker. It would be a shame if they have to be knocked down. One of the blocks of brick shops in Sydenham that keeps appearing on TV contains Penny Lane Records. A few days before the quake we bought a record of Joan Baez and Folk Concert Down Under with Rod McKinnon, Val Murphy, Don Thoms et al. Also a Corries CD. I don't know if they have been able to rescue their stock, but it looks like the building will be coming down.
What have we learnt from the earthquake? That there is no such thing as "safe as houses" and never keep a hundred empty jam jars in a top cupboard. We needed a shovel to pick up the pieces.
I was booked to go to Australia on the 6th Sept, but I just couldn't go and leave the family, so I cancelled."

Hang in there guys!
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 09:11 AM

thanks for the updates, Robyn, it's been a week since the last story on the ABC site re. the earthquake & that was about the kiwi chick hatching! The last quake story was a week before that.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Tangledwood
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 09:09 PM

That's a very interesting map Robyn. It brings the quake tally into perspective when you find how long the display takes to run.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 06:41 PM

Sand can go "quick" even with very little water content in the event of vibration unless it is well compacted prior to building.

1604 quakes! I just hope that means small ones instead of a big one.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 25 Sep 10 - 06:27 PM

Three weeks later and they're still having aftershocks.
The Quake map site has made a few changes so you can have 'sticky dots' that stay over the epicentre of each quake and you can select any day since it started to see the action.
The current count is 1,064!!!!!
The site, for anyone who missed it, is here:
Christchurch Quake Map.
I check it each morning and they're still having size 4.5 and over.
My brother hasn't been in touch with me but I've heard that they're doing OK. Several homes in his area were destroyed and there have been Port-a-loos placed around the streets because the pipes are still damaged and toilets not working, but the place is being cleaned up.
Some parts of the quake area had new houses built on land that is now known to be unstable - 'The foolish man built his house upon the sand......' so there is debate about whether they should try to rebuild or just plough the lot.
But that's only one small part - most of the city is back in action. Modern buildings were built to withstand this sort of thing and once the remaining old buildings are either pulled down or strengthened, in a few years you won't know the difference.
But the kids who have lived through it won't forget for a long time!
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 19 Sep 10 - 04:37 AM

I was abroad when this news broke,and seems to have been no coverage in Uk press since I've been back. Sorry to hear this, we had a marvellous month in NZ last year including Christchuch. Glad to hear human casualties have been few. I'm sure NZ infrastructure is better able to cope than most but still a lot of reconstruction to come by the sound of it.
Best wishes from
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Wolfhound person
Date: 19 Sep 10 - 04:34 AM

"I'm not sure if we ever get used to the feeling. "

Surely there must be something buried deep in our consciousness that ensures we don't - for our own survival.

Hope you and yours are all well, Robyn.

A friend's daughter is working in Christchurch, but she was over here when this started.

Paws

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Tangledwood
Date: 19 Sep 10 - 04:21 AM

Very nerve-wracking I imagine Robyn. At least each of these tremours is releasing tension between the plates rather than storing it to be released in something catastrophic.
Having lived in PNG for a couple of years I'm familiar with frequent tremours but nothing very large. I'm not sure if we ever get used to the feeling.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 18 Sep 10 - 10:52 AM

Shaky islands

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 18 Sep 10 - 07:52 AM

Extraordinary!

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 18 Sep 10 - 07:34 AM

18 quakes in the last 24 hours - that's a total of just over 700 since the first big one 2 weeks ago.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 06:44 PM

Gee. I hope youse stay safe.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Tangledwood
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 06:33 PM

Anyone else want to come and live here?
Robyn

With so many Kiwis already living in Oz could it be that the whole South Island is preparing to move here too?

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Gurney
Date: 17 Sep 10 - 03:21 AM

Vectis, don't miss the Auckland FF at the end of January, if you can help it.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: vectis
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 07:50 PM

I'll be in Aukland for Christmas and Tauranga for New Year. We will be moving down as soon as we can after we get sponsored in May '11

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 03:58 PM

36 more quakes in the past 24 hours but it's been quiet in the last 6 hours of that time. The last one was about 1:35am and it's now getting-up time so I guess they'll be getting some sleep.
But they're still getting them over 4 on the Richter scale.
People who had cars in driveways (or on the streets) had chimneys and other brickwork thrown down on them. Squish!
The people who originally came to NZ - ie first the polynesians and then Europeans, had no idea there were giant plates underneath them.
They do now!
Anyone else want to come and live here? There's a healthy folk scene!
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 16 Sep 10 - 02:21 PM

This map shows how the boundary between the Pacific and Australian plates passes right through New Zealand. Whoever designed that needs his head examined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 15 Sep 10 - 11:52 PM

Here's what the United States Geological Survey has to say:

Two people seriously injured. Six bridges and many buildings damaged at Christchurch. More than 5 km of right-lateral surface faulting was observed southeast of Darfield.

Tectonic Summary
The September 3, 2010 South Island, New Zealand earthquake occurred as a result of strike-slip faulting within the crust of the Pacific plate, near the eastern foothills of the Southern Alps at the western edge of the Canterbury Plains.

The earthquake struck approximately 50 km to the west-northwest of Christchurch, the largest population center in the region, and about 80-90 km to the south and east of the current expression of the Australia:Pacific plate boundary through the island (the Alpine and Hope Faults). The earthquake, though removed from the plate boundary itself, likely reflects right-lateral motion on one of a number of regional faults...

Translation: the Pacific plate and the Australian plate are rubbing horizontally against one another. 5 km of fresh new fault (split ground) has appeared near Darfield. Whichever side of the fault you stand on, the other side will appear to have moved to the right.

I think you can quit worrying about the volcanoes. If they haven't started to quiver or smoke yet, they are probably unaffected by the motion of the plates. I'm sure if there was any bad news, the press would let us all know.

Meanwhile:

is your water heater strapped to a wall?

do you have shoes right near your bed to put on if a quake strikes in the night? (to protect from broken glass)

do you have a sturdy table or desk to hide under?

have you removed heavy pictures or mirrors that could fall on you?

Little things can make a big difference.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 15 Sep 10 - 05:07 PM

Keep the car in the driveway.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 15 Sep 10 - 04:01 PM

I spoke too soon.
There have been 24 more quakes in the last 24 hours, several measuring more than 4 on the Richter scale.
The University programme that I reported on 8 September is still being updated and you can see the last 24 hours (or 12 or 6 or 3) as it happened.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: SINSULL
Date: 15 Sep 10 - 12:16 PM

Glad things are getting back to normal. Don't think I would cope very well with earthquakes all day and night. Add a volcano and I am gone.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Jack Campin
Date: 15 Sep 10 - 04:36 AM

Experts can be a bit depressing.

A friend of my father's in the 1960s was the NZ government's chief vulcanologist for the Rotorua area (centre of the North Island, one of the most active volcanic regions in the world). He kept his car with the tank absolutely full, the garage door open, made sure his wife had a spare set of keys, and had shovels and planks in the boot. I think his estimate was that they'd have at most half an hour's warning to run like hell.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 15 Sep 10 - 03:07 AM

My sister & brother-in-law were in San Francisco in 1989 when the last big one hit.

As he's a geologist he made sure they rented the best (built) house in the best (geological) area. He was home with her when the quake struck & the house shook, so they didn't have to worry about each other - it was only the rest of us back in Oz who worried until they called.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 14 Sep 10 - 03:44 PM

Just a couple more overnight:

Wed, Sep 15 2010 0:36 am
Magnitude: 4.3

Wed, Sep 15 2010 2:42 am
Magnitude: 3.7

Both of them were 20 km south-west of Christchurch.

Someone on TV the other night said Christchurch had a big earthquake in 1929 - a precurser to the Hawke's Bay biggie two years later!
They said there was definitely a relationship between the two.
Ooooppps!
We live in Hawke's Bay now, although Wellington is our home town.
Wellington is situated on several fault lines and the scientists have said for years that Wellington is overdue for the Big One!
I've lived through several minor quakes - nothing like the people of Christchurch, but you never really get used to them.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 14 Sep 10 - 07:57 AM

It's been quiet for the last 12 hours!!!
More than 550 quakes in the last 10 days.
I'm sure there will be more but I hope it's almost over.
Let the people of Christchurch sleep tonight.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Gurney
Date: 14 Sep 10 - 02:41 AM

To Gnu, and other concerned posters. When we insure our buildings in NZ, included in the price is 'The Earthquake and War Damage Levy.
This was organised after the Napier earthquake in 1931 where 256 people died and the centre of that art nouveau small city suffered as ChCh did, losing many characterful buildings, which were NOT built with earthquakes in mind.

That 1931 earthquake was a lesson to our Government, and the building codes introduced with that in mind no doubt saved lives.
The timing of this latest one is also saved many from death and injury, as it happened before most anyone got out of bed. The narrow escapes were mostly in old houses with brick chimneystacks, and the serious downtown damage was done to old commercial buildings, built with old European practices.
I like the way they look, but I wouldn't work in one

One church lost its tower, which almost cut it in two.

The fund of the earthquake levy must be HUGE. I hope.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Sep 10 - 02:38 AM

Robyn, thanks for the continual reports.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: gnu
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 05:03 PM

Any progress is good. Hope progress continues. Too bad the Commonwealth is spending so much money on bullets and might not be able to help out our citizens in NZ. Sorry for that statement but that's the way I feel.

Stay safe.

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 13 Sep 10 - 04:03 PM

I was going to tell you it was almost over - there were only a few small aftershocks on Sunday night and early Monday.
But in the last 24 hours there have been 34 aftershocks, most of them smallish but a couple of them were 4 or more on the Richter scale.
The city centre is open again and people are trying to get back to a normal life. But many will have lost their jobs.
The repair bill is etimated to be about 4 billion dollars - half of that for domestic properties, a quarter for business properties and the rest for public amenities - water, power, public buildings etc.
Anyway, things are looking up, most kids are back at school and they're learning to cope.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 10 Sep 10 - 06:44 AM

The aftershocks seemed to be easing but the smaller quakes are still happening - the latest was just 30 minutes ago.
The people in Christchurch are getting tired, the kids are having bother sleeping and most schools are still closed.
But some parts of the city are open for business and things are starting to return to normal. Water is now available in most homes and power is back on.
Some houses are condemned, some buildings are being pulled down, some families have had enough but many are OK.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: EBarnacle
Date: 09 Sep 10 - 12:02 AM

The late night news just showed a video of a liner interior being affected by what was apparently a minor tsunami in that area. Have there been other reports of similar events?

Subject: RE: BS: NZ Major Earthquake Canterbury Sep 2010
From: Little Robyn
Date: 08 Sep 10 - 03:51 PM

If you look at the map of the area, the bit that pokes out - Bank's Peninsular, has 2 holes in it - Lyttelton Harbour and Akaroa Harbour.
These are 2 very old volcanoes!!!!!!
Just sleeping.
No volcano is actually dead - they're just asleep.
I'm not a geologist or volcanologist but if you track the quakes, they're all in a relatively small area, very close to the old volcanoes.
I think, if we were living there, I would be packing my bags!
Robyn