Jill Dickie
Shane Collins
Location:158 Mairehau Rd, Burwood
I woke to the house shaking violently and hearing glass smashing;
it seemed to last forever! I thought about our dogs sleeping in the
lounge and worried about them walking over the glass. We got out
of bed in the pitch black, found a candle and matches, and went
searching for more to see the damage. We discovered we were
unprepared for such an event with transistor radio in the garage
somewhere; no batteries for torches; and no stored water. Our
water is pumped up from a well behind the house. We did however
have an old phone which plugged directly into the jack so Steve
made calls to family (since the cellphones were struggling to
connect). Several wine glasses had toppled out of the cabinet,
creating the smashing noise, and a lot of water had sloshed from
the fish tank, but that appeared to be the only damage. Very lucky!
I felt totally shaken, literally, and sat with a glass of cold water, by
candlelight, waiting for daylight and for Steve to find the gas cooker
in the garage to make a hot drink. No point going back to bed so I
was into the shower and Steve drove round to check on my horses
(all ok thankfully) then off to work at SPCA to help with any damage
created there. There was an eery feeling driving across town, and
listening to the radio on the way was comforting, though surreal.
How could this have happened to Chch? Once at work staff
swapped stories and got to work with the usual daily routine. All
animals in the shelter were just fine, though several cats were very
frightened and shaking, and needed some extra cuddles! Since
there was no power or phone to continue usual duties, we headed
home to attend to the cleanup. It felt better just being at home. In
the following days it helped to be around people and be working,
though many people called work regarding their lost pets and all we
could do was offer advice. Those cats were in hiding and not
coming out till they felt safe!!! Now, 12 days later, I still feel on
edge, waiting for the next aftershock. Our home has cracks in the
mortar between the bricks, the timber floor squeaks as we walk up
the hallway, we feel vibrations now from the trucks and buses
travelling past, our garage has a very loose wall, and many cracks
have opened up in the concrete floor and paving outside. We are
luckier than many as the damage appears superficial, but I can't
help wondering what might happen if we have another really big
shock? If there is one, I really hope it comes in daylight and not in
the dark when we feel our vulnerability the most.
Location:Main North Road Waimak Bridge
I work as an Armourguard Contractor and had just finishing
opening up the Ecan gates that lead to recreation area on the
banks of the Waimakariri River. When the earthquake struck I had
just started on the old Waimakariri bridge. I first noticed a wobbling
sensation and thought I had a tyre blow out then I saw the whole
sky around me explode in a lightning light show this was due to the
power lines in bridgend blowing. At this stage I was all over the
road and thought the bridge was going to collapse so I exited off
the bridge and noticed the cracks appearing in the road ahead. At
this time the entire area was out of power and was in complete
darkness. I tried to call the police straight afterwards to inform them
about the blackout but telecom must of crashed as my xt phone
didn't work.. Luckily my 022 phone was still up and running as I
received a call from my daughter asking if I was ok.. I went to the
supa centa mall in Belfast where Liquefaction had occurred in the
car park, at the time it looked like grey water but afterwards it was a
thick grey sludge. The mall had 1 broken window and cracks
everywhere in the car park. In countdown food was in piles in the
aisles. On the way home everything was in darkness until I got to
Barrington which was the only area still with lighted roads.
Quentin McKie
This is the hallway that the floor was shattered in several places.
Location:23 Country Palms Drive
House split in half, during earthquake. Slowly getting worse with the
aftershocks. Floor broken and walls cracking. Slept through most of
the earthquake.
Gail
Location:Frame crescent
My husband and I woke at the same time to a roar coming through
the house, we knew instantly that it was an earthquake coming, we
jumped out of bed and started to run to the kids, My husband just
made it around the bed before a large chest of drawers and book
case came crashing down, if he had been a second later, he would
have been trapped between the bed and the chest of draws. As we
got into the hallway to the girls room, the house began to shake like
nothing I had felt before, it was had trying to stay on your feet, but
we knew we had to get the kids. The power was gone by this point,
and it was so dark, we grabbed the kids from their beds and sat
under their doorways for the next 3 1/2 hours. The house seemed
to shake so violently and for such a long time and we could hear
smashing glass all around us. We were fortunate that the girls night
lights were touches as well, so we grabbed these and their duvets
to stay warm while huddled in their door way. Each time there was
a break in the shaking, either my husband or I would run and grab
supplies, from shoes (to stop us cutting our feet up on all the
broken glass, too torches, to taking down what pictures had not
fallen down already, one of us stayed with the kids the whole time.
As we still had an old style telephone, we were able to make
outside calls, so phoned the relatives in England to let them know
we were safe as we knew they would be worried sick. Also
managed to log on to the internet via dial up to see what was
happening as we thought, if it is this bad here, Wellington must be
gone, and then we found, it was us that were having the large
earthquake. who would have thought?
The next couple of nights I tried to sleep on the floor in the
doorways to my kids, I did not want to be far from them, just in
case, but in doing this, one can hear the ground rumbling away, the
anger in the ground, so no sleep was had- and its the sleep
deprivation that finally starts to make you lose the plot. I was not
coping in the evening, developing a fear of the night, so my work
place flew my family and I to Wellington to have a break and some
much needed sleep. All I can say is I work for an amazing company
and thank you so much! Having had a few nights sleep, puts you
back into a position to cope and get on with life.
Looking back now, and even with aftershocks continuing, it seems
more like a movie than real life, nothing can ever prepare you
enough for how you will react or feel during it. We have only just
moved from Wellington to Rolleston, thinking that we were moving
off major fault lines- well mother nature changed that!!
At 4.35am on September 4, 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake
struck Canterbury. Christchurch and surrounding towns were badly
damaged.
Keir Mac Donald
The doorway we sheltered under
Location:24a Kingsford Street
We had picked up relatives from a Sydney flight in the early hours
of Saturday morning and after chatting for a while were just all
departing for bed when the quake struck and the lights went out.
Fortunately I was right by our two daughters ( aged 3 and 9 )
bedroom door and was able to grab them and get under the door
way in the 5 seconds before the real shaking started.
As the shaking continued I heard our roof tiles landing on the gib
above our head and decided to try to shove our daughters back
under one of their beds. At that point the concrete slab under us
split with a horrifying noise throwing us backwards and leaving us
suspended on the carpet above the hole. Thankfully the shaking
stopped then and we made a dash for the front door which was
stuck shut and had to be forcefully pulled open.
Our family and guests then huddled in the driveway in shock
watching rivers of water gushing down our drive and Kingsford St.
looked like the Waimak in the moonlight. The sounds of sirens and
alarms and car horns coming from the CBD added to the horror.
Our Sydney guests were near hypothermic when our Neighbour (
Legend ) handed us a torch over the fence and we were able to
make dashes into the house in between aftershocks to get
blankets.
We huddled in shock till daybreak when we could see that a 2
metre wide crack nearly a metre deep had split our section and our
house in two. The exterior walls and interior walls were in such a
state that confirmed we'd had a lucky escape. A little higher up the
Richter Scale or a little longer and brick walls would have collapsed
and tonnes of roofing tiles would have rained down on us.
It was not possible or safe to get our cars out of the garage and at
about 8am we were contacted and picked up by relatives and taken
to a house with power and water in South Brighton. Being able to
contact family directly in the aftermath was a much underestimated
cause for reassurance and the Coms providers are heroes. If the
cell-net had not been operable the feeling of utter devastation
would have been overwhelming.
Our 3 year old daughter was hysterical at aftershocks and we have
sent both daughters away to relatives in the North Island while we
find somewhere to live.
Our home was 15 years old and will now be bulldozed.
Carly
Location:Dominion Avenue, Spreydon
My husband and I woke to an unbelievable show of nature! It took a
millisecond to register what it was, but once it did, we both leapt off
our bed and ran to our sons' room. My husband was there before I
could even reach the door frame, neither of us checked each other,
our priority was our child! It was the rolling that stunned us, the
floors were quite literally sliding back and forth beneath us. My
sister was in her doorway as well and now that the power was out
(went out almost instantly) all we could see by was the eerie green
light of the burglar alarm (now running on reserve). The first thing I
wanted to do was check the house. My heart thumping, I ventured
to the kitchen, and tried to find a torch. We soon found candles
(placed in the sink), torches, and cigarettes! My husband’s field
radio was located, and we switched on as soon as possible. There
were already calls coming in from the length of the south island,
reporting this unbelievable event! Breathless, frightened people of
all ages were calling Radio live to let their loved ones know they
were ok. My sister and I took a walk to the end of the driveway to
see if our neighbours were ok. Whilst out there, the ground shook
again, (for what seemed the umpteenth time!), and we grabbed
hold of each other! There were neighbours dashing for their cars,
most likely to visit loved ones and Carl and burglar alarms ringing
out across the dark night. Thankfully our street lights were still on,
probably the only ones in the whole neighbourhood. We went back
inside to pour water into containers, and growled ourselves for not
sorting our emergency kit sooner! The water pressure soon
dropped out, but we had enough for a couple days. My son was
mad with excitement, playing with torches and asking a million
questions! Some we just couldn’t answer, but the best thing at the
time was just offer reassurance that everything would be ok. There
were many strong aftershocks, and everyone found us dashing to
the nearest door way or table. My son was instructed to stay at my
side the whole time, just in case. I paid a visit to a close friend at
the end of our street to ensure she was ok. She had a visitor with
her so they were fine.
The next day found us travelling to my husband’s work to check on
things there. The roads were surprisingly full with other commuters,
so the travelling was cautious, making sure we missed all the
cracks and piles of silt. By in large, this time has been an amazing
demonstration of bravery, community spirit, both local and
nationwide. Our hearts go out to all those effected, and to those
who dropped their own lives to help those in need. I’m proud to live
here in Christchurch, the best city in the world. Carly.
Tegan Dalley
Location:31 boston ave ,hornby christchurch
September 4th
At 4.30 am on a Saturday morning Christchurch got a rude
awakening to a 7.1 earthquake, originating from Darfield.
As the earthquake started I thought I was shaking because I
was cold, but no it was a whole different story, the scariest
morning of my life, so far. When I heard mum shouting out
earthquake I automatically jumped out of bed, the fastest I had
ever gotten out of bed before, I was in shock, I had no idea that
an earthquake would hit a small city such as Christchurch, I
was terrified.
While the earthquake continued, my mum, sister and I huddled
under the doorframe, hoping that we were safe.
Freezing cold, with no power or lights, I climbed back into bed
still suffering from the after shocks, little did I no, the town of
Christchurch was an absolute warzone, filled with broken and
damaged buildings to looters filling the streets. Homes had
been totally ruined, not even safe enough to continue living in
their homes.
All the schools in the Canterbury region had to close till the
following Monday, which meant we had a week off, still not
been able to go to the mall because it was half flooded with
water.
The next morning as soon as it was light outside the neighbours
came to cheek if we were O.K.It was a hot sunny day after the
quake hit Christchurch, which was a plus for some of the
residents who had been evacuated.
Kaipoi was one of the badly hit suburbs; they still continue to
use portaloos, as they don't have sewer pipes after the quake
damaged them, locals set out to help the community clean up
the roads of Kaipoi, similar to all the other suburbs that got hit
badly. That had been my worst experience ever, I am very used
to the aftershocks now, infact I would be very excited to
experience another earthquake and everyone survive.
Lucy McDonald
My dad on our roof with our chimney
Location:12 Tosswill Road, Prebbleton
I was screaming my head off when the earthquake started. I ran in
to my mum and we got under the door frame and we stayed there
for a while. Dad and Billy went down the stairs to check the rest of
our house and outside too. I was really scared because our house
was built in 1863 and it was wobbling a lot upstairs when the quake
struck. Dad came inside the house and said " our chimney has
fallen down on our roof - so I went for a look. I saw that there was a
plate sized hole in the roof and we saw that some of the windows
had cracks in them and we have little cracks everywhere in the
walls. When we watched TV One later that day we saw a photo of
our house on the news. I am fine now, but don't like all the
aftershocks wobbling the house.
Dylan Lange
Me pretending to be strong.
Location:23 Stanton Crescent
I woke up before the quake hit, the room started swaying slightly
then all hell broke loose, It took me a second to figure out what was
actually happening. I tried to jump out bed knowing that the door
frame would be the best spot to be but i couldn't i just got thrown
back down so i covered my head and waited for the shaking to
stop. When the shaking did stop i grabbed my phone, it being my
only source of light with power out, and my way to lounge where i
was met by the rest of my family, we found a torch and some
candles and just waited till dawn. We only had a couple of things
break (a plate and a couple of ornaments) and have no damage to
the house (That we know of)
Mark Lincoln
to offer assistance although it was hard to find people who
actually needed help, other than securing chimneys.
Heading back to the office on Tuam Street for the first time
really brought home the impact of the earthquake. The
buildings around the centre of town seemed to have come off
far worse than the homes that we had seen. Town was a mess
and there were police cordons and army soldiers everywhere.
Looking at the tall old buildings that seemed like they could
collapse at any moment, we quickly cleared out and have been
working from home ever since.
Jill Turnbull
Serious earthquake damage to shop fronts on Manchester
Street, next to popular second hand book stores, a cafe, and
Sol Square bars. It's likely that these buildings will be brought
down. Photo taken almost two weeks after the earthquake.
Location:250 Shortland Street, Aranui, Christchurch
Like many other people, I was in bed when the earthquake
struck. As it happened, my wife and I jumped out of bed and
then had a hurried discussion as to whether we should be
under the bed or in the doorway! As the earthquake stopped,
we grabbed torches, got dressed, threw the dog, a camera and
some water bottles in the car, switched off the power to the
house and then headed out with the intention of listening to the
radio and driving towards the hills just in case a tsunami was
due to follow. Cars were already on the streets and there was a
definite feeling of panic. Traffic lights were mostly out (although
some still worked) so there were near misses all over the place.
So focused on the radio or on their cellphones, many drivers
were driving fairly recklessly.
We tuned into Radio Live to listen to others that were already
phoning in. Their reports showed the earthquake had hit inland
so we gave up on heading for the hills and instead went to a
cousin's place.
There we stood around in the driveway, listening to the reports
on the radio and making phone calls to friends and family.
Being from the UK, I quickly called my mother to ensure she
heard the news from me first. I asked my sister to post a
message on my Facebook wall saying that we were fine as
others had already started to see news on Facebook and post
messages asking if we were ok.
As the sun came up, we headed back to our own place to find
power and water were still out so instead went to an aunt's who
had power although three large brick chimneys had collapsed
and fallen into their roof space. While there, I jumped on the
internet to check the news and then wrote a blog post on my
blog containing some information and photos
(http://www.nzraw.co.nz/news/new-zealand-news/christchurchearthquake-photos/). The information was based on early
reports that were inaccurate and later corrected.
The rest of that weekend was spent clearing rubble from our
aunt's roof and ensuring the safety of the building as well as
checking up on friends and hearing their own stories. While on
the roof, a fire engine turned up to see if we needed help.
Shortly after, a civilian's car stopped outside and a woman
yelled to see if we needed any water. All around Christchurch,
residents were in the streets surveying damage and chatting to
one another. We met our own neighbours for the first time to
exchange stories. It seemed like everyone was getting together
Pantry implosion
Location:519 Halkett Road
Very severe shaking. I was caring for two young men with Down
Syndrome for the weekend and thought they would be terrified. It
took quite a time to get through the bedroom door to get down to
their rooms because the doorway 'gap' was shaking severely. I felt
like I was in some weird computer game - getting through the door
to the next 'level' of game. It was almost impossible to stand let
alone walk and I fell over twice. The sounds the house was making
were hard to describe.
In our house we were all fine - had our emergency kit at hand;
plenty of water and food and a gas cooker was an asset. Minimal
damage - broken crockery, fireside tiles and a bent shower door.
Michael Murphy
Shows the fridge and dryer, how far they moved.
Location:15 Cashel Street, Christchurch
I was laying on the couch asleep when I woke up just before
the earthquake (about 2mins or so) - Next thing the power went
out followed by horrible shaking about 10secs later. In my halfzombie state I rushed to the back door, unlocked it, and sat in
there with a pillow over my head. It was extremely scary since I
did not know how the building would cope. After the earthquake
I shouted to my flatmate "YOU AWAKE!" - He just replied with
"YES I AM F...... AWAKE!" - We were both terrified since we did
not know exactly what hit us. I then got a phone call from my
boss who kindly asked me to go in and check on all the servers
at my work, so we got in the car and headed to my work 10mins
after the quake. The damage was evident, this was a big one. I
got to work and we were still charged with adrenaline from the
initial tremor, I was upstairs in the building and every single
aftershock I rushed downstairs and outside. Luckily no damage
was done to my work building but as soon as I got home it was
evident the damage that was done to our flat, cracks through
walls, bricks fallen down, and some bricks right beside I was
sitting at the time of the quake. We then both agreed we had to
get out of there and stay somewhere else.
Next thing, one of the aftershocks the next day collapsed the
top story of the flat, glad we were not in there. I was basically
living at work for 2 days before I could sort everything out, but
thank god that things are falling in place for me again.
KEN MILSOM
Location:5 JUDGE STREET OPAWA CHRISTCHURCH
It was 4.35 am when we were woken. I awoke from a deep sleep to
complete darkness and a ride to hell and back. All I could hear was
a load grinding rumbling sound and things crashing down. The
house shook really violently, I mean it was with so much force it
was hard to stand up. I knew it was an earthquake and I knew it
was bad. The thought crossed my mind that I might not make it out
alive. I thought my family were going to die. It seemed to go on for
ages.
Its now been 10 days since the earthquake. We are still getting
aftershocks. over 400 so far. I have been feeling afraid and sick.
The experts tell us that this is normal.
I seem to feel every vibration and noise. It is like my senses are
working overtime.
I can’t help the way I feel, even know my family and myself are all
OK. I can't help but wonder if there is going to be a bigger shake.
Looking at the news on TV or the internet or the papers do not
help... but I still look.
I find it hard to go to sleep at night for fear of another one maybe.
Sometimes I wait for an aftershock and then try to go to sleep.
Every aftershock turns my stomach.
My world has changed so much in just a short time.
Sarah Goldsworthy
My niece and two great nieces standing next to the crack on
Avonside Drive
Location:39 Meadow Street, Papanui
Our family had gathered together to celebrate my mums 80th
birthday on the 4th - some of us were staying at Meadow Park
Holiday Park in Papanui. That morning I woke to one of my nieces
screaming and quickly realised that the earth was shaking rather
violently. There were 7 of us in the cabin and we all reacted
differently - after the initial quake my sister and I both thought of our
mum who lives alone in North Brighton.
Probably a stupid thing to do in hindsight (especially seeing some
of the damage to roads later in the day), I rushed over to my mums
place and wondered why I was one of the only people going in the
direction of the beach when there were about 250 cars coming
towards me... it was only then that I realised one of two things:
1)Tsunami! We didn't know where the quake was centered so had
no idea there could have been a tsunami; and 2) Where are all you
people going?
Got to my mums place in record time to find that she was ok and
waiting for one of my brothers to come and get here. After the we
had to to evaluate the situation, we quickly decided there would be
no 80th birthday party that day... we ended up having the family out
to my brothers farm in Sefton for a quick put together afternoon tea.
Whilst the initial shake was horrible, I think it was the aftershocks
that really caused the un-nerving to me. I was visiting from
Australia and knew I couldn't leave the day I was going to so I
extended my trip for another 3 days - most people were keen to get
out of the city, I wanted to stay.
Because mums house was ok and the rest of the family were good,
my thoughts went to those amazing buildings in Chch that have
had to been torn down. It is sad that we are losing so much of our
heritage, but it is a miracle that no lives were lost.
Might seem strange to say but I was glad I was in Chch and not in
Brisbane when it happened. I might have been useless in Chch and
not able to do much but I know I would have been worse in
Brisbane and I would have been on the first plane to get there...
Its certainly something that we won't forget in a hurry and we will all
remember my mums 80th birthday!
Alyson Bradley
Location:Cashmere, Christchurch
Earth Quake Zone
What can I say
Just another day
I woke up to a sound
A dream gone wrong
I was totally shocked
My home danced on
It did not seem real
As it moved about
Louder and louder
Like an explosion
In the quite of night
I could feel it inside
I could not speak
My whole body shook
I wanted to hide
The world had moved
Right under my feet
I was shaken about
I could not believe
My mind was racing
What could it be
I wanted to shout
I thought of my boys
I called their names
As I run to find help
Total still darkness
The lights were out
Distance noises
Screams and shouts
Then everyone came
It was late in the night
And no one could see
There was broken glass
I put on my shoes
I found my boys
I found a torch
We ran outside
My boys close by me
Still in the quake zone
My home seemed ok
My family were safe
And I was a awake
I decided to prepare
Not sure what for
I sat for a moment
I started to organize
What we may need
In case of a next time
What should I do
Automatically I started
Picking up the broken
Made more secure
Exhausted inside
I continual to smile
As all that mattered
We were all alive
Cars started coming
Escaping for safety
They came up our hill
Mothers with babies
Listening to radios
Wanting to know
Needed some reason
What should we do
Aftershocks started
Continual to happen
So scary at times
When the big ones hit
Vibrations and motion
Makes me feel sick
Sensory overload
Will do what I need to
Try and stay positive
A challenge ahead
A reminder to respect
Our life and our world
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/canterburyearthquake/earthquake-map/