September 3rd/4th 2010
All peaceful in the Webber household... Lara asleep, Sam and I had hopped into bed and nodded off into blissful sleepyland...
...4.30am... awaken from a deep sleep to our bed shaking... My thoughts...'Sam stop moving around for god sake I need to sleep!'... 'Sam are you having a seizure!?!?'... 'F&*k! Sam whats happening?!??!'...
We both sit upright and realise this ain't no seizure! It is in fact a massive earthquake! We stumble outta bed as fast as we can, I yell to Sam, "Grab Lara!!" He is already halfway across her room. I grab the duvet off the bed and crawl/walk/stumble to the bedroom door where I huddle in the doorway waiting for Sam to arrive safely with Lara. I hear a "F$%k, stumble, OUCH" I scream out "Are you ok" Sam appears in the doorway with Lara, safely bundled in his arms but sporting a stubbed toe and sore leg from trying to wade through all the toys and things that were rattling off the walls and shelves.
We sat together under the door frame while the house continued to rattle, roll, crack and groan. The noise was horrendous! My immediate thoughts were 'This is MASSIVE, are we going to survive this?' I was just waiting for the house to crumble down around us. It was the most scariest moment of my life! As we waited for the quake to stop Lara sat in my arms smiling away seemingly unaware as to what was happening around her. She even fell asleep by the time the shaking had stopped.
Just after 4.30am... Power is off, sirens and alarms are going off throughout the neighbourhood, we stay in the door frame as we know there will be aftershocks! And YES there certainly were! Each one scaring the living daylights outta us! Txts come through from family, they are all ok. PHEW!
Daylight started to emerge and we ventured into the kitchen and lounge area, WHAT A MESS! cupboards and drawers flung open, pantry contents smashed onto the ground, glassware smashed, pictures and photos either crooked or flung from their hooks.
A knock at the door... our neighbours checking that we were OK. They told us that the roads were a mess and there is no water or power.
We turned the radio on and hear about the damage and how big the earthquake was... 7.1 on the Richter Scale... whole buildings collapsed...
Lara hungry for her morning bottle by now... no power to heat! Luckily we have gas so we boil up a pot of water and submerge the bottle. Not the most efficient or effective but it does the trick. Just like the 'Good old days' huh :)
With Lara close by we sit listening to the radio for updates, it is cold, no power for heating! Lara wears her winter woolies as she plays in the exersaucer, still unaware of what has happened and too little to really react to the numerous aftershocks.
Aftershocks...
5th September 2010
Aftershocks continue to rock us! It is VERY scary, they are big and unpredictable. We are too scared to let Lara out of our sight, out of arms reach even. I don't like putting Lara down for a nap, her room is too far away if I needed to get to her in a hurry.
Aftershocks continue to rock us! It is VERY scary, they are big and unpredictable. We are too scared to let Lara out of our sight, out of arms reach even. I don't like putting Lara down for a nap, her room is too far away if I needed to get to her in a hurry.
Will they ever stop!
September 6th- 29th 2010
More and more aftershocks have rattled us, Lara has spent a few nights in our bed (as opposed to that idea as I am) I feel it necessary for all concerned!
We have been for a drive to see some of the quake damage and OMG!! When the neighbours told us the roads were 'a bit buckled' they weren't lying! Huge cracks in the roads (like you see on movies!) Water and liquefaction oozing out into the streets, not to mention raw sewerage!, flooding, man holes popped up a metre or 2 out of the ground, power poles either grounded or extremely crooked!, buildings collapsed, huge holes in the road. It is just unbelievable! Words cannot describe.
Lara has had a bout of Croup, which, as first time parents scared us like crazy! It was a 3am trip to the after hours clinic, driving through the earthquake ravaged roads. Not pleasant!
More and more aftershocks have rattled us, Lara has spent a few nights in our bed (as opposed to that idea as I am) I feel it necessary for all concerned!
We have been for a drive to see some of the quake damage and OMG!! When the neighbours told us the roads were 'a bit buckled' they weren't lying! Huge cracks in the roads (like you see on movies!) Water and liquefaction oozing out into the streets, not to mention raw sewerage!, flooding, man holes popped up a metre or 2 out of the ground, power poles either grounded or extremely crooked!, buildings collapsed, huge holes in the road. It is just unbelievable! Words cannot describe.
Lara has had a bout of Croup, which, as first time parents scared us like crazy! It was a 3am trip to the after hours clinic, driving through the earthquake ravaged roads. Not pleasant!
Just when we thought all had settled...
February 22nd 2011
So life was returning to normal, I was fine putting Lara down for her naps, I was able to sleep at night, the roads had more or less been fixed, weeks of digging liquefaction had cleared the roads, sewerage, power and water all restored. then.... BAM!!!! another HUGE quake strikes! This time in the middle of the day 12.51pm... My reaction was very different this time! Lara and I were home together, I was on the computer while Lara was playing on the lounge floor with her toys. The shaking started and I thought "Oh not another bloody aftershock!" reluctant to move as they usually shake and end rather quickly. Well not this time! As the rumble and shaking got bigger and bigger I dived for Lara who was playing under the T.V, I struggled to get to her as the ground was shaking so much. I scooped her up and crawled to the nearest doorway. This one is MUCH bigger than in September I thought to myself, the house is definitely coming down this time! The noise was terrifying! Lara was HYSTERICAL. the house sounded as if it was going to collapse, the paintings and mirror on the wall were rattling violently, the kitchenware smashed and the drawers and cupboards were flung open spilling their contents. I was doing my very best to stay calm, over and over I told Lara "It's ok, it's ok, mummys here" no words could help her hysteria. I held her close and covered her head with my arms.
The shaking stopped and my neighbour was calling my cell phone. We were both shaking like a leaf! unable to string a proper sentence together. We worked out that we were both ok and we met at the fence. I couldn't stop saying "Oh my God!" over and over again, I couldn't control the jibberish and fear that spilled from my mouth. BIG aftershocks struck as I was outside with Lara, I could see the tree trunks swaying and the fence rolling. "I'm not sure we should be outside" I told my friend. I couldn't figure out whether it was safer to be inside or out! Certainly the noise wasn't as bad being outside.
We stayed at the fence talking, slight hysteria could still be heard in my voice i'm sure... "people will have died this time" I kept saying. Incoming call from Sam... Thank God!!... he is safe and on his way home. My friend had her radio on... reports of the devastation rolled in "whole buildings collapsed, people trapped, buses crushed" How big was it we wondered? At least as big if not bigger than in September surely!... actually we learned it was just a 6.3 on the Richter scale! REALLY? felt much bigger than that. "City centre has been devastated" the man on the radio announced. I suddenly realise 4 out of 6 of my family members work in the city and it would have been lunchtime, the worst possible time it could have struck! I was gripped with panic all over again. "Fatalities reported" the radio blurted! "oh my god!" I texted my family furiously, network congested, no use trying.
By 3pm I have heard that all but one of my family are safe. My sister was still unaccounted for! Mum had come to my house and we were all conversing about the event and worrying sick about Jenny (my sister)
4pm... A car rolls up...a 4wd... a muddy bare foot emerges from the car door... is it?... could it be?... It is!... JENNY!!!!!! sighs of relief all around. Jenny came to the door and we all hugged and blurted out crying! Jenny immediately told us how unimaginable the city looks. "bodies covered over in the street, people trapped beneath rubble, buildings with sides completely off, the cathedral spire gone!, buses mangled with people inside" Absolutely shocking!
No power, water, sewerage again and this time Lara is old enough to really react to the aftershocks, and let me tell you there are many! Mum and Jenny stay for dinner...luckily we have a gas stove top we can cook up a feed. Chicken stirfry it is. We use plastic cups as our dinner plates so we can just throw them away afterwards. Dishes are hard to do with no utilities working!
Night falls, it is cold, eerie, and terrifying. I don't want to put Lara in bed and I don't want to go to bed. Too scared! As if we are going to sleep tonight.
We eventually pluck up enough courage to go to bed, we had been lying there only a few minutes and there is a knock on the door... It's Sams boss. He has been asked to help fix some broken equipment so the police can have internet access back! I begged Sam to stay. I could NOT be home alone. I cried and begged some more but deep down I knew he had to go, he was the only one who knew how to fix what needed to be fixed, and if it wasn't for the police needing it I would never have let him go. As he left he told me he would drive past my parents house and tell them I was home alone. Jenny who was staying at mums decided to come and stay with me. She arrived wrapped in her duvet and we huddled in the lounge together bracing ourselves every time an aftershock hit.
So life was returning to normal, I was fine putting Lara down for her naps, I was able to sleep at night, the roads had more or less been fixed, weeks of digging liquefaction had cleared the roads, sewerage, power and water all restored. then.... BAM!!!! another HUGE quake strikes! This time in the middle of the day 12.51pm... My reaction was very different this time! Lara and I were home together, I was on the computer while Lara was playing on the lounge floor with her toys. The shaking started and I thought "Oh not another bloody aftershock!" reluctant to move as they usually shake and end rather quickly. Well not this time! As the rumble and shaking got bigger and bigger I dived for Lara who was playing under the T.V, I struggled to get to her as the ground was shaking so much. I scooped her up and crawled to the nearest doorway. This one is MUCH bigger than in September I thought to myself, the house is definitely coming down this time! The noise was terrifying! Lara was HYSTERICAL. the house sounded as if it was going to collapse, the paintings and mirror on the wall were rattling violently, the kitchenware smashed and the drawers and cupboards were flung open spilling their contents. I was doing my very best to stay calm, over and over I told Lara "It's ok, it's ok, mummys here" no words could help her hysteria. I held her close and covered her head with my arms.
The shaking stopped and my neighbour was calling my cell phone. We were both shaking like a leaf! unable to string a proper sentence together. We worked out that we were both ok and we met at the fence. I couldn't stop saying "Oh my God!" over and over again, I couldn't control the jibberish and fear that spilled from my mouth. BIG aftershocks struck as I was outside with Lara, I could see the tree trunks swaying and the fence rolling. "I'm not sure we should be outside" I told my friend. I couldn't figure out whether it was safer to be inside or out! Certainly the noise wasn't as bad being outside.
We stayed at the fence talking, slight hysteria could still be heard in my voice i'm sure... "people will have died this time" I kept saying. Incoming call from Sam... Thank God!!... he is safe and on his way home. My friend had her radio on... reports of the devastation rolled in "whole buildings collapsed, people trapped, buses crushed" How big was it we wondered? At least as big if not bigger than in September surely!... actually we learned it was just a 6.3 on the Richter scale! REALLY? felt much bigger than that. "City centre has been devastated" the man on the radio announced. I suddenly realise 4 out of 6 of my family members work in the city and it would have been lunchtime, the worst possible time it could have struck! I was gripped with panic all over again. "Fatalities reported" the radio blurted! "oh my god!" I texted my family furiously, network congested, no use trying.
By 3pm I have heard that all but one of my family are safe. My sister was still unaccounted for! Mum had come to my house and we were all conversing about the event and worrying sick about Jenny (my sister)
4pm... A car rolls up...a 4wd... a muddy bare foot emerges from the car door... is it?... could it be?... It is!... JENNY!!!!!! sighs of relief all around. Jenny came to the door and we all hugged and blurted out crying! Jenny immediately told us how unimaginable the city looks. "bodies covered over in the street, people trapped beneath rubble, buildings with sides completely off, the cathedral spire gone!, buses mangled with people inside" Absolutely shocking!
No power, water, sewerage again and this time Lara is old enough to really react to the aftershocks, and let me tell you there are many! Mum and Jenny stay for dinner...luckily we have a gas stove top we can cook up a feed. Chicken stirfry it is. We use plastic cups as our dinner plates so we can just throw them away afterwards. Dishes are hard to do with no utilities working!
Night falls, it is cold, eerie, and terrifying. I don't want to put Lara in bed and I don't want to go to bed. Too scared! As if we are going to sleep tonight.
We eventually pluck up enough courage to go to bed, we had been lying there only a few minutes and there is a knock on the door... It's Sams boss. He has been asked to help fix some broken equipment so the police can have internet access back! I begged Sam to stay. I could NOT be home alone. I cried and begged some more but deep down I knew he had to go, he was the only one who knew how to fix what needed to be fixed, and if it wasn't for the police needing it I would never have let him go. As he left he told me he would drive past my parents house and tell them I was home alone. Jenny who was staying at mums decided to come and stay with me. She arrived wrapped in her duvet and we huddled in the lounge together bracing ourselves every time an aftershock hit.
mother nature throws us a couple more biggies!
13th June 2010
Lara had just gone down for a nap, I had hopped into bed hoping for a short nap myself after an awful nights sleep.
Perhaps 15 minutes into my relax the bed started to violently shake, and then a little more violently! Out I shot and scrambled for Lara's room, it wasn't easy to move quickly as I braced myself on anything I could reach just to stay upright...I reached Lara acting cool and calm as the room continued to shake, rattle and roll! I knew to I had to be calm for Lara's sake so I enthusiastically said "oh look at the lights having a wobble?!" ...fake laughter to diffuse the utter terror that had overcome my body once again. "Oh look your dolly has jumped off the shelf again!" "Your car has gone for a cruise under the cot!"
Sam had come home for lunch and surprised me by calling down the corridor... "you girls ok!?" Relief! someone to calm me. Heart rate beginning to return to normal when BOOM! another shake, just as violent, if not more! Lara in hysterics again. We crouch under the kitchen bench waiting for it to stop. You would think we'd be used to it by now but no, it doesn't get much easier when they are as big as this!
We later learn the magnitudes were 5.4 followed by a 6.3 Roads destroyed again, liquefaction ruining neighbourhoods once again. Schools were shut for the day, power, water and sewerage all out again. This time we are more annoyed than shocked with the aftermath. Mum called round and told us her neighbouring streets were completely MUNTED a word we use on a regular basis here in Christchurch these days.
I browse the news headlines once power has been restored, more of the city has been devastated (as if there was anything left to destroy!) More historic buildings which were going to be saved, now unsavable. :(
Please let this be the last of the big quakes!
Lara had just gone down for a nap, I had hopped into bed hoping for a short nap myself after an awful nights sleep.
Perhaps 15 minutes into my relax the bed started to violently shake, and then a little more violently! Out I shot and scrambled for Lara's room, it wasn't easy to move quickly as I braced myself on anything I could reach just to stay upright...I reached Lara acting cool and calm as the room continued to shake, rattle and roll! I knew to I had to be calm for Lara's sake so I enthusiastically said "oh look at the lights having a wobble?!" ...fake laughter to diffuse the utter terror that had overcome my body once again. "Oh look your dolly has jumped off the shelf again!" "Your car has gone for a cruise under the cot!"
Sam had come home for lunch and surprised me by calling down the corridor... "you girls ok!?" Relief! someone to calm me. Heart rate beginning to return to normal when BOOM! another shake, just as violent, if not more! Lara in hysterics again. We crouch under the kitchen bench waiting for it to stop. You would think we'd be used to it by now but no, it doesn't get much easier when they are as big as this!
We later learn the magnitudes were 5.4 followed by a 6.3 Roads destroyed again, liquefaction ruining neighbourhoods once again. Schools were shut for the day, power, water and sewerage all out again. This time we are more annoyed than shocked with the aftermath. Mum called round and told us her neighbouring streets were completely MUNTED a word we use on a regular basis here in Christchurch these days.
I browse the news headlines once power has been restored, more of the city has been devastated (as if there was anything left to destroy!) More historic buildings which were going to be saved, now unsavable. :(
Please let this be the last of the big quakes!
overnight shakes
So we had a couple of good shakes overnight. Woken at 3am by a 4.2 magnitude, heard the roar before I felt the bed and house rattle for a few seconds. Then again at 5am with a 3.7. Luckily Lara didn't wake PHEW!
"The aftershocks follow a weekend of similar-sized quakes, including a 4.4 on Saturday.
Geologists say the aftershocks are expected to gradually decrease in size as the region returns to its normal level of seismicity.
More than 7400 aftershocks have jolted the city since the September 4 quake last year." (stuff.co.nz 18/7/2011)
5.30am wake-up call
22 July 2011
A nice early wake-up call at 5.30am. Bed shook (I thought Sam was just turning over at first) Then as I came out of my deep sleep I realised it was another quake. Sigh.
This time the shaking wasn't as violent, it still felt big but the house was rolling rather than shuddering violently. It went on for quite some time it seemed. I waited for Lara to wake up crying but no, luckily she stayed asleep YAY. At the time I guessed it was about a 4.5 magnitude. When I crawled outta bed an hour or so later and checked Geonet and CroweQuake to find it was actually a magnitude 5.1! but centered a bit out of the city, actually quite close to Sam's parents farm. They would have felt it good. Now we will probably have more noticeable aftershocks for the next couple of days but not as big. Well we hope anyway :)
A nice early wake-up call at 5.30am. Bed shook (I thought Sam was just turning over at first) Then as I came out of my deep sleep I realised it was another quake. Sigh.
This time the shaking wasn't as violent, it still felt big but the house was rolling rather than shuddering violently. It went on for quite some time it seemed. I waited for Lara to wake up crying but no, luckily she stayed asleep YAY. At the time I guessed it was about a 4.5 magnitude. When I crawled outta bed an hour or so later and checked Geonet and CroweQuake to find it was actually a magnitude 5.1! but centered a bit out of the city, actually quite close to Sam's parents farm. They would have felt it good. Now we will probably have more noticeable aftershocks for the next couple of days but not as big. Well we hope anyway :)
A few more rattle and rolls!
18th-20th August 2011
Thursday morning, Lara is napping... wobble wobble... was that another aftershock? Haven't felt one in ages! I carry on doing what I'm doing then go and get Lara out of bed as I hear her talking away to herself. I go in and she is standing up explaining to me that we had had a "wobble wobble" She was pointing to the lights, gesturing her hands back and forth, then doing her 'wobble dance' She seemed VERY excited to tell me we just had an earthquake! I'm glad the fear has gone (for now anyway)
I looked up on Geonet and sure enough a 3.6 magnitude.
Friday night...actually Saturday morning 5.14am... bed starts a shaking! I open my eyes and sigh... then close my eyes for the remainder of the shaking. Will Lara wake up and cry... waiting... no! YAY back to sleep we go. Lara tells us about it in the morning when we go to get her up out of bed. :) 4.6 Magnitude...decent size! No fresh damage. :)
Saturday night... sitting reading Lara her bedtime books on the couch... wobble wobble, jolt jolt... Lara looks up but Sam keeps reading slightly louder and with more expression, Lara looks back to the book and forgets we even just had a couch rattle. :) Good job Sam. Geonet says 4.0 Magnitude.
Not sure what to think of this fresh new batch of quakes, we haven't felt any in so long that these aftershocks are giving me mini heart attacks all over again. At the same time poor Japan has just suffered from a huge 6.8 magnitude aftershock. Related? Who knows.
Thursday morning, Lara is napping... wobble wobble... was that another aftershock? Haven't felt one in ages! I carry on doing what I'm doing then go and get Lara out of bed as I hear her talking away to herself. I go in and she is standing up explaining to me that we had had a "wobble wobble" She was pointing to the lights, gesturing her hands back and forth, then doing her 'wobble dance' She seemed VERY excited to tell me we just had an earthquake! I'm glad the fear has gone (for now anyway)
I looked up on Geonet and sure enough a 3.6 magnitude.
Friday night...actually Saturday morning 5.14am... bed starts a shaking! I open my eyes and sigh... then close my eyes for the remainder of the shaking. Will Lara wake up and cry... waiting... no! YAY back to sleep we go. Lara tells us about it in the morning when we go to get her up out of bed. :) 4.6 Magnitude...decent size! No fresh damage. :)
Saturday night... sitting reading Lara her bedtime books on the couch... wobble wobble, jolt jolt... Lara looks up but Sam keeps reading slightly louder and with more expression, Lara looks back to the book and forgets we even just had a couch rattle. :) Good job Sam. Geonet says 4.0 Magnitude.
Not sure what to think of this fresh new batch of quakes, we haven't felt any in so long that these aftershocks are giving me mini heart attacks all over again. At the same time poor Japan has just suffered from a huge 6.8 magnitude aftershock. Related? Who knows.
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