At 4.40am this morning the world changed for my family and the rest of us who live in Christchurch. Thrown around on our bed, Philippa and I scrambled to find our feet. Our daughter Rachel is staying. We scrambled downstairs and sheltered under our heavy dining table as the bucking subsided. Then we realised we might still be in danger being in a two storey home. Coats on and outside with a torch. Huge cracks obvious in our driveway. Our neighbours were wandering around and invited us inside. It was a very full house – from teens to elderly grandparents. After sheltering under their dining table for a while we went back under ours.

As light came, the damage became apparent. A huge slash runs across our back lawn a metre deep, It has spewed silt a foot deep across much of our property. The portico outside our front door has moved on its two brick pedastals. Upstairs, one of the house’s two chimneys has pierced our bathroom ceiling. If it had gone the other way, it would have been above our sleeping heads. Mirrors smashed, our stereo thrown onto the lounge floor, photos tossed off mantelpieces.

Out on the street fronting the Avon river, the road has folded into the shape of two playing cards resting at diagonals against each other. After  checking colleagues were ok and mum-in-law, I rang Radio NZ and gave an interview. Phil Goff returned a call and was briefed. By 8.30 I was on the road. First call, an elderly member whose recently lost her daughter. All well with Molly but her nearby diary on Woodham Rd has lost the front facade onto the street, The owner’s bedroom was open for all to see. The shop was also open for business! Then to Mum in law Margaret, who arrived this week from Blenheim to live in Chch. Shaken but no panic.

Into CD HQ at Christchurch’s Art Gallery. CD staff are working like clockwork. Mayor Bob held a press conference which I joined. It is a miracle we all agree that there are no fatalities. I walked to my electorate office across the Square. The front of the Mexican restaurant nearby has fallen into the street. The tables are still set for tonight’s meal.

To St Alban’s Community Centre – it has lost a wall. The Coptic Church on Edgeware Rd is badly damaged. I stop to console distressed parishioners. At the Edgeware Rd/Barbadoes intersection, a entire row of shops has collapsed, plus others nearby.  Locals are agape at the damage.

I check on a pensioner woman for a worried Labour  member. No damage at her unit,  looks like she’s out somewhere. Then back to the home of our friends Pam and Rob where Philippa and Rachel are taking refuge. Literally. The continuing aftershocks have made our house unsafe to be in tonight. A second chimney may be poised to crash through into a ceiling. We gather a change of clothes quickly and well, flee.

After dropping my suitcase, I visit CD HQ again and begin sorting a visit tomorrow by Phil Goff and our Civil Defence spokeperson Carmel Sepuloni. Pop into the Linwood Welfare Centre at Linwood College, providing emergency housing and assistance, Only one family so far but HCNZ staff say they’ve had 200 reports of toppled chimneys, so there may be more to come.

Back to our ‘refuge’ to watch the news and eat a hot meal – power came back on late afternoon.  TV One’s bulletin confirms I’ve only seen a fraction of the mayhem. This will be the biggest challenge our city and nation has faced for a very long time. 

If this adds value to your view of the enormity of what’s happening, I will try and file again tomorrow.

Hopefully that’s after a decent sleep – the aftershocks are regular and sometimes a bit too big for comfort.

Kia kaha

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