Christchurch Earthquake Shakes City

On Saturday September 4th 2010, sleeping residents of Christchurch New Zealand were awakened by a massive earthquake.

The earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale struck at 4.35 am in the morning, with the epicentre just north of the city at Darfield where a massive fault line opened up the road.

For an earthquake of this magnitude it was a miracle that there were no fatalities. However many residents suffered serious injuries and damage to property was extensive. One city building caught fire as a result of the earthquake but the fire was quickly brought under control.

After shocks ranging between 3 and 5.4 on the Richter scale were still continuing days afterwards.

Power and water supplies were cut and the mobile phone network went into overload but Civil Defence and Mayor Bob Parker instantly swung into action. The community supported each other, checking on neighbours and helping where needed.

Central city blocks were immediately cordoned off by police and army and teams of engineers began assessing each building and rating the safety of each. Unfortunately many were deemed beyond repair and were marked for demolition.

Restoring power and water were high priorities and power was able to be restored to most by the end of the first day but restoring water took many days more as the earthquake had damaged water mains and the army engineers helped with this. Constant reminders were broadcast to residents to boil their drinking water and for those without power to do that, they were advised to add 3 drops of household bleach to a litre of water.

Families with condemned or destroyed homes were housed in centres set up in school halls, while persons aged over 65 living alone were checked by welfare agencies. Schools were closed for days and there was no public transport for 3 days also.

Many stories of near misses and good fortune emerged and valuable lessons were learnt for future earthquakes. Photos of the Christchurch earthquake record the damage and the human faces of those affected.

As well as keeping emergency supplies in your home make sure you keep a torch by your bed. Not having a torch to reach for when the earthquake struck was regretted by many Christchurch earthquake affected residents!

by: Toni

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