22.02.11. Orange, plastic, road cone cordon, cop car, cop & Hi-Vis vested, Civil Defence blokes, Fitzgerald Ave / Bealey Ave, while pedestrians fled CBD
London St: "Hi to all from Leah. Feeling absolutely shattered. Not too much sleep. Was in my classroom when the quake hit. Items crashed off shelves. Our bodies were thrown about. Kids frightened.
We teach 12 children 6-9 years with learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD etc) took them outside together with the other 12 older primary aged pupils that make up our little private school."
22.02.11. Liquefactioned Fitzgerald Ave / London St
22.02.11. Liquefactioned flats, London St
22.02.11. Sept 4 quake, Feb 22 quake damaged house, fallen brick wall, loose blue tarp, London St. The house would be demolished
22.02.11. Liquefaction muddied, flooded London St. Car trapped in liquefaction mud
22.02.11. Liquefactioned muddied, flooded London St nr Seabrook McKenzie Centre. Steel mesh fence cordon by liquefactioned plot
"Eerie feeling in air around us. We clung together in the carpark, soothing, reassuring, dishing out rescue remedy or supporting whoever needed it most, trying to keep ourselves in check so kids would feel we were there for them. Luckily we'd read all the literature already about how to support kids after an earthquake. Just didn't know we'd need it again so soon."
22.02.11. Liquefaction muddied, flooded front gate, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, London St
22.02.11. Liquefactioned front door, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, London St
22.02.11. Quake trashed office, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, London St
"City chaotic. Saw and smelt smoke over central city. One parent ditched her car and walked to fetch her child. One child taken along the road to meet her mum in gridlocked traffic. Our principal left on foot to deliver another child across a broken unusable bridge where a parent waited on the other side unable to get any further. Cell phones were unreliable. All urgently trying to get hold of loved ones, with no certainty that messages would get through."
22.02.11. Quake trashed classroom, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, London St
"Outside, London St usable, but ripped open at edges. Watched liquefaction bubble and ooze, a bubbly, sloppy porridge of grey, watery muck onto the surface. Our school back garden is now 3/4 covered in grey liquefaction sand. Outside, Pavitt St wet and grey, and as we waited in the carpark the surface continued to change shape and colour, with some little, grey volcanoes developing, oozing silt, and large, grey, silty pools of water and mounds of grey silt, changing the shape of the surface in an alien way. Where my car was parked, a large mound of grey mud appeared underneath it and it was later difficult to move it out of the guck."
22.02.11. Liquefaction mud / water volcano, Seabrook McKenzie Centre carpark. Liquefaction mud / water oozed during aftershocks all afternoon
[I rocked the car forward & reverse, then reversed from the quakemire I'd seen other parked cars trapped in quakemire beyond their axles. My feet were stained grey for days post quake, didn't wash them to save water. 80% of Christchurch without water, day post quake.]
22.02.11. Liquefaction mud / water volcano, Seabrook McKenzie Centre carpark, London St
22.02.11. Liquefaction muddied, raw sewage flooded carpark, Richmond Community Creche, Pavitt St
"All afternoon we spoke to passersby, gleaning news and hearing the awful inevitable news of lives lost. But also, celebrating any time one of our loved ones arrived at school to be with us. While sharing a hug with another S. African who is our Occupational Therapist, she suddenly said, 'There's your son!' Jake had walked from his work to mine to let me know he was safe. After what seemed like forever waiting for him to get into the school carpark, a kind parent ferried him across the calf deep water pool at our entrance, in her car. A huge hug and a little cry. It was SO good to see and cuddle him."
22.02.11. Quake peeled brick wall, liquefaction mud, flooding, Richmond Working Mens Club, London St. June 13 quake would collapse the brick / concrete wall & roof. The ruin would be steel mesh fence cordoned, obstructing traffic, for over 5 months before demolition began
22.02.11. Liquefaction muddied, flooded Village Green, Stanmore Rd
"Caring for each other, as we not only waited with the kids, but waited to hear that our loved ones were safe. Caring even for strangers who wandered in and joined us, looking for a cigarette or local knowledge of how to reach addresses to find loved ones. Later when Mark arrived on foot, having left his car along the way, was another highlight. And when we got a text from Luke confirming his safety I could finally breathe easy."
22.02.11. Liquefaction muddied, flooded front gate, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, London St
22.02.11. Liquefaction mud / water volcanoes, school playground, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, London St
22.02.11. Kids, staff, parents awaiting transport in liquefactioned carpark, Seabrook McKenzie Centre, London St. Too dangerous to wait inside school bldg, due to aftershocks
"Around 5:30 when one school student remained, we left for home, driving my car to go and fetch Mark's car, Whitmore St. I then followed him while we tried to find a passable route, first Barbadoes St then Madras St, through the chaos of broken roads, silt, pools of water, mass of cars, no traffic lights, sirens. Turning around at some dead ends where roads were no longer usable and taking side roads, with a dangerous bit marked by bricks, we finally got to less damaged roads."
22.02.11. Liquefaction mud / water volcanoes, Seabrook McKenzie Centre carpark by back gate, Pavitt St
22.02.11. Liquefactioned feet during an afternoon's trekking through liquefaction mud, water, raw sewage, London St
[We'd turned back in Barbadoes St, only 4x4s could splash through the sinkholes, liquefaction flooding across the road].
22.02.11. Liquefaction flooded, muddied Pavitt St
22.02.11. Liquefaction muddied, flooded Fitzgerald Ave nr Bealey Ave crossing. Buses were parked & evacuated, as nearby quake trashed CBD was deadly dangerous & Fitzgerald Ave N bound lane had collapsed by Avon Loop
"The closer we got to home the more normal it became. If you went out of our house now and stood in our driveway and looked along our street, you might even ask, 'What earthquake?' Our suburb Burnside is one of the lucky ones. We have water and before 9pm had electricity too. Our hearts and prayers are with those who have different outcomes to ours. Thanks to all for caring."
Back home, Heath St, I tidied our bedroom: Straightened our "Good Luck" Taiwanese, pink, cherry blossom, watercolour, skewed by the quake above our oak bed headboard. Tidied books & files muddled by the quake on top of our rimu chest of drawers. Re-shelved books & box games fallen from our book case.
London St: At Leah's school that quake afternoon, while Leah had dealt with pupils, parents, public, I'd entered the empty, quaking school bldg & coolpixed quake trashed, bottom floor offices & Leah's classroom. Was too scared to climb quaking stairs to coolpix the 2nd storey classroom, staffroom, offices.
Director's office: Files, papers thrown from desk & wall shelves onto carpet. Box & papers thrown from table onto carpet. Plastic waste paper basket overturned.
Secretaries' office: Papers fallen from pigeon holes onto carpet. Steel filing cabinet toppled, 3 steel drawers gaping. Table top contents, box, files, papers fallen onto carpet.
Corridor: Books, box games fallen from table onto carpet.
Teaching office 1: 2 steel, filing cabinet drawers fallen onto carpet. Whiteboard toppled onto carpet.
Teaching office 2: Desk drawers flung open. Files, books, box games flung from shelves onto carpet. Stationery, pupils' desk games thrown from desk onto carpet. Whiteboard toppled onto carpet.
Leah's classroom: Boxes, files, papers, pupils' games thrown from desks & shelves onto carpet. Seed bucket contents, toy box contents scattered on carpet. Pupils' toys, papers, books thrown from quake scattered desks & chairs. Quake shunted, steel cupboard, steel doors flung open, stationery contents on carpet. Cupboard movement had ground seeds into carpet.
22.02.11. Quake disorder, 5 Heath St bedroom
*Trekked Bealey Ave, London St, Pavitt St, Stanmore Rd, Alexandra St, Fitzgerald Ave, Heath St. 100 snaps.
Facebook:
Friends expressed concern at the catastrophe seen on TV. Expat friends invited us to leave Christchurch & stay with them a while in Oamaru or Nelson. One commented that the N1 was "chocka with traffic coming south." Like 4 Sept Darfield Quake, friends offered goodwill & support, glad we were alive.
Another aftershock! Better switch off, or our computer will shake to hell, shaking while I type. Besides Jake's escape while his restaurant collapsed next to him, another miracle was our phone was fixed by Telecom an hour before the quake, been OK all afternoon. 22 Feb 8.22pm.
@Cherryn Paige, Janet, Steven, Andrew, Pippa, Louise, David, George, Scott, Dave, Lilian. Exhausted after adrenalin high. Leah OK. Jake, Luke with girlfriends. 22 Feb 8.54pm.
@Janet. Still trying to track down sons thru chaotic streets, mud, water, broken roads. Traffic lights kaput everywhere. Jake's flat flooded. Luke MIA for 3 days].
Traffic jam by Burnside HS near our Heath St home (while I searched for an open petrol garage) while tourists leave hotels etc, to catch flights out of Chch, making accommodation available for rescue workers.
Greers Rd: Tourists wanting to leave Chch were told to gather at Burnside HS. Many there with their luggage, looking anxious, while a Maori security guy directed congested traffic. 23 Feb 3:59am.
@Jonathan, Janet, Averil, Rod, Debbie, Gary. Thanks for kind thoughts, prayers. Bldgs collapsed, the 4 CBD Avenues cordoned in a State of Emergency, anyone not allowed will be arrested. People trapped, death figures varied last few hours, latest breakfast news: 38 confirmed dead, rescuers trying to dig them out, some trapped can be contacted by cell phones, awful scenes on TV.
No sleep last night, at least 11 aftershocks over M4, intensity much greater than 4 Sept Darfield Quake, hence massive damage. Will try to find Jake & Luke at suburbs where there's no water. Sewage anywhere. Pipes kaput underground. Burnside, our suburb seems only place with intact water pipes. Citizens must queue for water at designated places. 23 Feb 7:29am.
Jake rescued work mates from collapsed Under the Red Verandah restaurant, by yanking out a hot water cylinder (geyser) with his bare hands.
Jake's now homeless as his flat was flooded, 2 feet of water, when a capped well burst below his flat. Possessions messed. 23 Feb 8:36am.
Christchurch mayor Parker, NZ Breakfast TV report: 55 identified bodies; 20 unidentified bodies; 300 missing. 23 Feb 9:39am.
@Averil. Lyttelton badly damaged too. 23 Feb 12:47pm.
75 confirmed dead.
80% of Christchurch has no water supply. Emergency water got from schools.
50% of Christchurch power still off, mainly E of CBD, due to underground cables.
Supermarkets & garages opening after safety checking.
Lots of road & liquefaction damage. (Breakfast TV). 23 Feb 12.58pm.
@Cassidy. Dusty, injured people pulled from rubble. 23 Feb 1.06pm
@Vaughan, Andrew, Travers, Sean. We got off lightly. 4 Sept Darfield Quake, dummy run for the 22.02.11 Killer Quake. Our water OK, power OK, toilet dodgy, now must find a petrol station & supermarket open. Others not so lucky. Huge mopping up, cleaning, rebuild needed in Christchurch. 23 Feb 1.34pm.
PM Key: Early estimate of quake cost to NZ $6 billion.
Declared National State of Emergency so NZ National govt can mobilize "all necessary resources." (Breakfast TV). 23 Feb 2:01pm.
@Brian. Esslemonts OK. No sleep last night, shaken, repetition of 1st night's shaking of the 4 Sept Darfield Quake. Wild images racing through my mind. Others worse off, we fluked a good suburb to live in. Heard on TV news the National State of Emergency is a first for NZ. Sorry to hear your friend lost everything in the quake. 23 Feb 3.44pm.
@John. Great sorrow in Christchurch now. Close to tears. People dead. Agree about old, unstable brick bldgs & improved modern bldgs. Architects, designers must rethink. Lessons learnt. 24 Feb 3.17am.
@June. Couldn't sleep the first night after the afternoon quake, too many M4+ aftershocks jumping us around in our bed, so I got up about 4am, then watched TV all day: CBD destruction scenes.
Many bldgs I'd snapped since the 4 Sept Darfield Quake now collapsed. National State of Emergency, it'll be a while before I can go into the CBD, many cops, troops about. Anyone in the CBD, unauthorised, will be arrested. TV showed two men on bicycles yesterday, trying to find a trapped wife in the CBD, turned away by a female cop at the cordon!
I drove [10km during aftershocks] to Leah's school within an hour of the quake. Parents were fetching kids from schools (now all closed). Gridlocked roads, as there was great destruction to roads, buckling, ripping. Water & liquefaction mud everywhere.
Parents with kids dodged running water along roads, serious faces. No traffic lights working, chaos at crossings. Only one traffic light working at Greers Rd near home. Our Burnside suburb got off lightly.
Leah's school: Quake afternoon aftershocks ongoing, jolts in our feet when shaking, everyone shocked. Waited at Leah's school some hours till all kids left with parents, but took snaps of muddy, liquefaction damage at the school & a couple of blocks around.
Leah drove her car behind mine, we drove tandem through chaos back home to Burnside. Had to turn back on flooded Barbadoes St . Still see the terrified look of the woman driver behind Leah's car, flapping her hands in panic, as we turned, uncomprehending why we weren't fording flooded Barbadoes St. Some cars made it across, like a river ford. We found our way back the way I'd come, along quake damaged Madras St, Forfars St, Severn St... all flooded, liquefaction muddied, sinkholed, lumpy, bumpy hell drive.
After watching constant TV reruns of people being pulled out of trashed bldgs, I crashed on our lounge carpet the 2nd night after the quake. Now revived. Leah kipping.
Jake flooded out of his flat, a wreck. Will try to get clothes to him today. Impossible yesterday, garages closed, no petrol. I refused to join a queue at Clyde Rd garage. All garages & supermarkets closed, have to be safety checked before reopening. At our closed Wairakei Rd supermarket, we looked through windows a few hours post quake, all aisles strewn with fallen products.
Will try & get hold of Luke at New Brighton by the sea, with girlfriend & folks. Unhappy about him being there, tsunami danger. 24 Feb 3:43am.
@ Shiela, Grant, Averil, Margie. Will try to phone Jake today. Cell network battling under the strain. Communication fog. Phone network jammed. 24 Feb 3.51am
@Fritz. Good on journalist Mike Tarr. Haven't seen his / my Daily News front page article yet. Mike had suggested a composite of my Facebook comments, plus I sent him a report of my trek to Leah's school over chaotic, destroyed Christchurch roads, shortly after the quake, to her muddy, liquefactioned school. The trek back home was more chaotic, with Leah driving her liquefaction muddied car behind, dodging sinkholes, mud, flooded roads, most of the way home. 24 Feb 4:24am.
@Averil. 80% of Christchurch without water supply, having to fetch water in containers from schools. We're OK, one of the few suburbs with running water. Must boil drinking water now, too much kak underground & in rivers now. Caught myself swallowing when brushing my teeth this morning. 24 Feb 4.34am.
@June. Quake death toll 75, yesterday's NZTV news. Via Faceebook, I got an email from a Durban friend I haven't heard from for years re the Daily News article. 24 Feb 4.55am.
@Lynelle. Battling to upload pics on the internet. Will stop till things calm down. 24 Feb 5:13am.
76 dead [numbers varied, depending on who counted].
22 dead Christ Church Cathedral [false, media hype, rubbish Cathedral toll quoted for days].
431 in hospital, 164 serious injuries.
Huge damage in Chch CBD (NZTV news). 24 Feb 10.00am.
@John. Just heard, Jake's friend died in the quake. 24 Feb 12:59pm.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
No comments:
Post a Comment