I have never experienced anything like yesterday’s earthquake in my life. People who know me well, know that earthquakes are one of my most pervasive fears – but that fear is preserved for Wellington. At 4.35am yesterday, the strength and violence of the quake was such that I didn’t have time to feel the fear as Robbie and I leapt out of bed and ran down the stairs. Running isn’t quite accurate, because it only describes what we tried to do – we were literally tossed from side to side as we stumbled down the stairs; the electricity went off and all I could hear was glass breaking and things crashing to the floor. As we made it to the front door of the house, it stopped. I still couldn’t tell you how long it lasted. It obviously seemed longer than it was. It was then that I felt the first shock of what had just happened.
Unbelievably the only things that broke were a wine glass and a sugar bowl lid. Although I think there could be a bit of structural stuff - my neighbour over the road tells me she can’t see our bedroom balcony from her room anymore – and there are cracks in the drive, it looks as if we have got off comparatively lightly.
Robbie and I set off relatively early to see how the electorate was doing - we went through Bexley, where we live (lots of flooding), Tumara Park, Parklands and then to Brooklands. The volunteer fire brigade at Brooklands gave me my first coffee of the day and it was great (it was instant coffee and I didn’t care). I attended their Civil Defence meeting at 9am but there wasn’t much to be reported at that time. It really highlighted to me how important volunteer networks are – especially in areas like Brooklands, which doesn’t have the same access to core infrastructure as the inner-city suburbs.
Robbie and I then parted ways and I visited friends in Aranui to see how they had coped. This visit showed how random the effect was – they had lost precious crockery and glasses and their dining room looked like a bomb had hit it. Then I went to Dallington and it had sustained serious damage, but what I saw at St Pauls broke my heart – I only visited the school last week and the parish had only buried Fr Miles O’Malley the week before.
I came home exhausted and slept on the couch downstairs – tomorrow was another day!
glad you ok please take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
Whoa scary time for you and your hubby
I’m glad you weren’t hurt 
Unfortunately, there will be more (quakes) to come. Aftershocks. What’s worse is that geologists are saying the Alpine fault is still loaded, seismically-speaking. Tis the risk of living in a geologically active locale. But balancing that out, we’re also lucky to live in a country where protection and regulatory intervention are an acceptable part of government.
Clearly, the timing of the quake was fortuitous – with so many in bed and not haplessly walking under brick facades or large panes of glass. But let’s not forget to also thank all of the regulatory safeguards and standards put into place and enforced over the years by careful and protective “interventionist” governments.
If you try to discern the difference between how New Zealand fares during these horrendous quakes and compare it with places like China and Turkey, where death tolls are truly horrendous during quakes, you’d conclude, I think, it’s the extensive regulatory framework we place around construction. We build to survive quakes. Recent quakes in China and Turkey show what happens when you don’t have this kind of regulatory protection.
Inspirational big sis – your electorate is lucky to have you quietly showing leadership and empathy. Our mp in Ilam has been hanging round with his boss ….
Being a Wellingtonian for 30+ years, I say earthquakes? Meh! But then I have other major phobias.
Big ups to you for showing leadership in your rohe.
And hoping that things settle down swiftly.
Good job Lianne – one cant help but be impressed by how quickly and coordinated the effort towards pastoral care and support has been – My heart, my thoughts and my support goes out to all the residents of Canterbury – from all accounts some of the aftershocks are as scary. Take care and keep up the excellent work.
Isn’t it recommended for people’s emergency/disaster packs, that they incude a battery radio & working batteries? Yep, that’s what it says here:
http://www.wellington.govt.nz/services/emergencymgmt/preparedness/preparedness.html
And, also, hasn’t there been some hassle with Iphones, getting an FM radio included?
Sorry, wrong thread.