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 six-nine 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 three quarters 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. I didn't wash them to save water. 80% of Christchurch is without water, a 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 when one of our loved ones arrived at school to be with us. While sharing a hug with another South African, our Occupational Therapist, she suddenly said, 'There's your son!' Jake had walked from his restaurant 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 at 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 afternoon, while Leah dealt with pupils, parents & public, I entered the empty school building & coolpixed bottom-floor offices & Leah's classroom. I was too scared to climb stairs to coolpix the second-storey classroom, staffroom, & offices.
Director's office: Files & papers were thrown from the desk & wall-shelves onto the carpet. Box & papers were thrown from the table onto the carpet. Plastic waste-paper-basket was overturned.
Secretaries' office: Papers fell from pigeon-holes onto the carpet. Steel filing-cabinet was toppled, three steel-drawers gaped. Table-top contents, box, files & papers fell onto the carpet.
Corridor: Books & box-games fell from a table onto the carpet.
Teaching office: Two steel, filing-cabinet drawers fell onto the carpet. Whiteboard toppled onto the carpet.
Another Teaching office: Desk drawers flung open. Files, books & box-games flung from shelves onto the carpet. Stationery & pupils' desk-games were thrown from the desk onto the carpet. Whiteboard was toppled onto the carpet.
Leah's classroom: Boxes, files, papers & pupils' games thrown from desks & shelves onto the carpet. Seed-bucket contents & toy-box contents scattered on the carpet. Pupils' toys, papers & books thrown from scattered desks & chairs. Shunted steel-cupboard's steel-doors gaping, stationery-contents thrown on the carpet. Cupboard-movement ground seeds into the 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 post 4 September 2010 quake, friends offered goodwill & support, glad we were alive.
Another aftershock! Better switch-off our computer, shaking while I type. Besides Jake's escape while a restaurant building collapsed next to him, another miracle was our landline 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 our sons through chaotic streets: mud, water, broken-roads. Traffic-lights kaput everywhere. Jake's Waltham house-flat was flooded. Luke in South New Brighton for three days].
Traffic-jam by Burnside High School near our Heath St home (while I searched for an open petrol-garage) while tourists leave hotels etc, to catch flights out of Christchurch, making accommodation available for rescue workers.
Greers Rd: Tourists wanting to leave Christchurch were told to gather at Burnside High School. Many arrived 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 your kind thoughts & prayers. Buildings collapsed. The four CBD Avenues are cordoned in a State-of-Emergency, anyone entering cordons can be arrested. People trapped in buildings. Death-toll varies, latest TV breakfast-news: 38 confirmed dead, rescuers trying to dig them out, some trapped can be contacted by cell-phones. Awful TV scenes.
No sleep last night, at least 11 aftershocks over M4, intensity greater than 4 September 2010 quake, hence massive damage. Will try to find Jake & Luke at suburbs where there's no water. Sewage anywhere. Underground pipes kaput. Burnside, our suburb seems the only place with intact water-pipes. Citizens must queue for water at designated places. 23 Feb 7:29am.
Jake rescued work-mates from a collapsed building by Under the Red Verandah restaurant. He yanked out a hot-water-cylinder (geyser) with his bare hands.
Jake's now homeless, his house-flat flooded, two feet under water, when a capped-well burst below his flat. Possessions messed. 23 Feb 8:36am.
Christchurch mayor Parker, NZ Breakfast TV toll: 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 east 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. The 4 September 2010 quake was a dummy-run for the 22 February 2011 quake. Our water is OK, power OK, toilet dodgy. Now I must find an open petrol-station & supermarket. 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.
PM Key declared a National State-of-Emergency so NZ National government can mobilize "all necessary resources." (Breakfast TV). 23 Feb 2:01pm.
@Brian. Esslemonts are OK. No sleep last night, shaken. Images racing through my mind. 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. Sorrow in Christchurch now. People dead. Agree about old, unstable brick-buildings & improved modern buildings. 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's breaking-news all day: CBD destruction scenes.
Many buildings I'd snapped since the 4 September 2010 Darfield quake are now collapsed. National State-of-Emergency now. It'll be a while before I can go into the CBD, many cops & troops about. Unauthorised persons in the CBD 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. Ruined roads: buckling, ripping. Water & liquefaction-mud everywhere.
Parents with kids dodged running water along roads & footpaths. 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. Shaken & shocked. Waited at Leah's school for hours till most kids left with parents. Took snaps of quakemire-damage at the school & surrounds.
Leah drove her car behind mine through muddy chaos back home to Burnside: I still see the terrified look of the woman driver behind Leah's car, flapping her hands in panic while we turned back, clueless why we weren't fording flooded Barbadoes St. Some cars forded the mud OK. We returned home via damaged Madras St, Forfars St, Severn St... all quakemired & sinkholed, a lumpy, bumpy hell-drive.
After watching TV reruns of people being pulled out of ruined-buildings, I slept on our lounge carpet the second night after the quake. Now revived. Leah kipping.
Jake was flooded out of his house-flat. I'll try to take fresh clothes to him today. Impossible yesterday, garages closed, no petrol. There was a long queue at Clyde Rd garage. Garages & supermarkets are closed. Must be safety-checked before reopening. At our closed Wairakei Rd supermarket, we looked through windows a few hours post-quake, all aisles were strewn with fallen products.
We're unhappy about Luke staying at New Brighton due to 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 is jammed. 24 Feb 3.51am
@Fritz. Good on journalist Mike Tarr. Haven't seen his / my front-page, Daily News article yet. Mike suggested a composite of my Facebook comments, plus I sent him a report of my quakemired trek to Leah's school. The trek back home was chaotic, Leah driving her quakemired car behind mine, dodging sinkholes & mud on flooded roads. 24 Feb 4:24am.
@Averil. 80% of Christchurch is without water-supply, people must fetch water from schools. We're OK, one of the few suburbs with water-supply. 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. Death-toll 75, yesterday's NZTV news. I got an email from a Durban Teachers Training College friend about my 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 [toll 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 Christchurch 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.
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