Earthquake in New Zealand

[Randy_R]

An earthquake has caused major damage to Christchurch and many fatalities are expected.

here's hoping for the safety of our members and their families in that area.

[Danny]

   We know a lot of folks from New Zealand, some were in Christchurch and moved to Texas. We'll probably be hearing some personal news soon.

   Wasn't Mark going to New Zealand for a month?

[Zohn]

It was severe.... the people of the land of the Silver Fern are in my prayers during this time.

[Walkerman]

Just saw video if the event.  Quite horrible.  I'll be there in a few weeks on vacation.  Impeccable timing, as always.

[carruth]

God save New Zealand.

[Queequeg]

I left Christchurch on Saturday Feb 19th. The last photograph I took in New Zealand was of the Cathedral on the Square.  Less than 72 hours later the earth rumbled and roared. My girlfriend stayed on for an additional two weeks. the Cathedral on the Square was destroyed in the temblor. When i heard the news on BBC I thought for sure that she must have already left Christchurch for points north, but she managed to get a phone call out to me and indeed she was still in Christchurch. Fortunately she was on a bus at the time since the quake struck around lunchtime. Her hotel was destroyed. Had it hit in the middle of the night, the outcome would have been different for her. The son of the owner of the restaurant where I had my last meal in Christchurch was killed in the quake.
Interestingly, our travels took us to Australia first where we were scheduled for a dive trip on the Great Barrier Reef, leaving out of Cairns. 6 hours before our arrival into Sydney with a connecting flight to Cairns, a Category 5 cyclone  of monumental proportions with  sustained winds upwards of 150mph struck Cairns and the reef, knocking out power and phone, generally wreaking havoc on our destination, scotching our dive trip. So, we arrived in New Zealand early. Actually had a wonderful time there. The people were extraordinarily friendly. Spent a week each on both the North & the South Island. Christchurch was a very beautiful city. I heard the mayor say that parts of the city will never be rebuilt.

[carruth]

Pleased you enjoyed your stay in New Zealand. We are still working out what the future for Christchurch will be. It is very sad that our second biggest city is in ruins.

[tadol]

A good friend played a number of gigs in NZ and got back just a little before the quake -  he's heard from the guys he played with and they're all good, but just barely. Now we're anxious about friends in Japan - heard from most, and they are alive, but we are hoping to duplicate all the pics we have of their families from past visits so that when they are dry and secure again, they'll have some copies since they lost everything.

[warj]

I admit i was unaware of the New Zealand crisis.  Thanks for informing me.  I'll do my best to tell my friends as well.

[Walkerman]

Just got back from a 3 week cruise to "downunder."  I could easily retire to Tasmania.  Toured Christchurch, and the damage was quite apparent and stark.  The downtown area was completely closed off, so couldn't see any of the damaged church.  Streets were in pretty bad shape.  Seems it was mostly the older brick buildings that got hit.
I did get an "All-Black" jersey to wear in commemoration.

[Randy_R]

Just got back from a 3 week cruise to "downunder."  I could easily retire to Tasmania.  

I've had the same thought more than once.

The devastation in Christchurch has been overshadowed by events in Japan, but that doesn't lessen the amount of destruction there and long term impact on the NZer's