Persephone

You're right, I am sort of used to it now. There have been around 4 or 5 since I woke up this morning, I hear the telltale rumbling, wait for the tremor and just carry on with what I'm doing. They are quite mild now though and only last 4 or 5 secs. Range from a mild jolt and shake to smoother ones that just feel like you're on a boat rolling on the sea. I also keep getting the feeling that the ground is moving but so barely perceptible that I can't be sure whether it's a very mild tremor or whether I'm imagining it Looks like there were a few overnight but I slept through them!

Hate the fact that whenever I hear the first rumbling of a plane flying overhead and getting louder my immediate thought is that it's another big one on the way. Then a second later relief as I realise it's a plane and not a quake about to start

saoghalbeag

That's the same feeling we're having here!! Especially early last night when the bigger jolts came through - in between I felt like the house was floating in the sea. Very queasy. I'm inclined to think the ground is still making some sort of movement as when the aftershocks died off later I could feel the change in the ground - that it was all really still again.

My daughter is only 4 and pretty worried - she leaps straight for the door frame the second we feel anything!!!!!! Hope that wears off eventually but feel as tho my nerves have been shot for life! Everytime the flat next to us close a door we jump!

Persephone

[QUOTE=saoghalbeag;8826638]We live in the CBD - right near Victoria St where loads of buildings crumbled into street, including (as we discovered whilst stumbling a bit dazed in search of coffee) Our Daily Bagel - got to it and the entire row of shops have lost the top storey facade. AND they couldn't steam the milk when we did find coffee...
QUOTE]

Pleased to hear that you are ok Wow that sounds way too close for comfort, any damage to your house or belongings?? Though the important things are that the family are not hurt and that you manage to find a decent coffee

saoghalbeag

lol i wouldn't call it decent - i'm a cappuccino drinker and had to suffer through a long black with a dash of milk, blech!!!

Upstairs flats had chimney bricks come through the ceiling (was hard to ascertain as chimneys not functioning and mostly covered up - took a while for us to figure out where all the random bricks were coming from in a weatherboard house!!!). They crashed down his stairs which runs in between our kitchen/lounge and out through the glass panels in his front door and into the yard. Big mess. All around his staircase we have plaster/wallpaper damage but it doesn't appear structural - still making a quick dash through the wee under the stairs access to kitchen/bath

One of the bedrooms juts out at back with no storeys above and has the least amount of cracks so that's where we're sleeping - under the big family dinner table I thoughtfully purchased instead of a desk!!!

Just very glad to have power/water etc (and the www of course!). How are things out west? I have heard we bore the brunt of the shock around here - and the shops in Victoria St really gave me a fright in the early hours of the morning! 2 doors down their whole side brick wall came away. Very glad for weatherboard!

Persephone

Yeah, it feels peculiar doesn't it. Just had about a minute then when I felt like I was floating on very calm water. It's like that feeling you get when you've been on a boat for a while, you get onto dry land and still feel the motion of the sea. The fluid in the inner ear hasn't stopped moving so you still think you're in motion.
I do notice when everything seems still and the lightheadedness stops

Just had another 5 seconds of trembling and rolling 12.20

Hope your daughter is ok, must be really scary for a 4 yr old seeing all the damage down in the CBD

saoghalbeag

i know i did feel a bit foolish dragging a kid round town but tbh could not stomach the thought of being back inside the house! plus just keen to get around other people.

we have had slight tremors all morning but only a couple around 10 that were noticeable. Dreading the 6 they keep insisting might occur this week. Hoping work might tell us not to come in - altho would love to get to the shops to get a TV!!! Regretting not buying the one I saw last weekend...

Persephone

Oh hell, that sounds bad. How soon do you think you'll get it back to normal? Not that you can answer that of course, idiotic question!! We've been really lucky here, no damage and the whole area seems to have got off lightly. We have got a newish house made of wood and polystrene blocks[!] and I presume the ground here is more stable.
It seems that the most damage has been to the north, south and east/middle of Chch. Not looking forward to the 6 they think may happen as well

saoghalbeag

eeek another big rumble just then!

after the hoovering it doesn't seem so bad - especially looking at pics of other places. Wallpaper may end up staying as is for a while - so long as nothing structural etc - it's a rental house, old place and poor landlord only just repainted inside all - cracks in other flats too. Hope she has good insurance!!

Persephone

Yep, felt that- bigger than the others have been today.
Hope you get your house back to normal soon

Rolleston still have no power and water, Mr S has offered the use of our shower for some friends out there.

kiwinow

It does make you think that a survival kit is not too OTT after all. That "it will never happen to me" mentality is proven wrong so many times. I've had disaster kits in the past, but eventually you have to use the water/ food etc and forget to replace things, or you borrow a torch and it never goes back. It would be hard to reach all the things you need if disaster struck.

On a lighter note - In the news this morning there was a story of a couple who went ahead and got married in Christchurch amongst the mayhem. As their chosen photo venues were all cordoned off, they drove around and found a suitable pile of rubble and used it as a backdrop for the photos. At least they'll never forget their anniversary date.

Expat Kiwi

I bet they won't, that'll be something to tell the grand kids about

I hear all schools are closed until at least Wednesday, I'm sure a lot of kids are going to be very upset about that

P2L

probably the most terrifying event of my life. The worst thing was not being able to get to my kids because the bed was shaking so violently.

We are in Selwyn about 30km from the epicentre. Compared to other friends and neighbours we have suffered minor damage; china broken, cracked toilet etc

The current situation here is that most people have had power restored, although it goes off now and again, water in some areas is contaminated and a boil water notice in place for Rolleston and Tai Tapu. There is sewerage going into the rivers too! Some bridges are impassable

All schools in Selwyn and Waimakari closed until Wednesday. Lincoln Uni closed for a H&S assessment until further notice.

I work for New World in Lincoln and we have limited supplies, but no chilled or frozen foods yet; our Distribution Centre taken a big blow. be interesting to see how the supply chain holds up in days to come.

Aftershocks have slowed considerably today but still had some that have had me ready to head for the door!

I hoping tonight might be a bit more peaceful and still!

We have a weather warning in place for the next 24 hours! Strong winds and rain to come.

For those of you that have been affected, I hope you are coping well and your loved ones are not too upset.

For those of you in the rest of the country, please do not underestimate the power of Mother Nature. If you haven't done so, have your survival kits ready, your grab bags too.Write phone numbers on a peice of paper as well as store them in your phone, have cash to hand for 2 or 3 days, secure those tall cabinets to the wall and look what you have stored where. Make sure you have water for drinking and washing, petrol in your car and your phones charged and credit on them, and make sure your kids know the drill, wherever they may be.

Having lived through the past 36 hours and held my children in a doorway more than once and seen a grown man reduced to tears, this is not a situation I wish to repeat. For those of you on the outside looking in watching the news constantly, when you are that news it feels very differently, and right now I think most of us wishes we could switch channels for a few days.

Keep safe friends

luvwelly

This is very true...we have our 'emergency kits' including tents and sleeping bags and bottled water....trouble is there is no way of guaranteeing being able to get to it all. For that reason we also have a special kit and water in the boot of the car.
Think I will also have to revisit our plan though.
The way Eftpos went out you are right about always having cash on you, a fullish tank of petrol and fully charged phones.
Google 'survive it' if you want to purchase ready-made kits in rucksacks...we did this after seeing that programme called Aftershock set in Wellington a couple of years ago.

House currently being buffetted by what feel like gale force winds and driving rain....so feel extra sorry for Christchurch...they could have done without inclement weather in the clear-up period.

Yotty

Quite a difference in effect from the CHC quake and this one at BAM which was only a 6.0! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake just shows what good building control does!

Jan n Neil

Details of all quakes including "aftershocks" here


More than 30 felt since midnight last night (18 hours ago), some quite big...