[Sixstrings]

Some more info:

Massive 7.4 quake hits South Island

Power is out to most of Christchurch because of extensive damage there, Radio New Zealand reported. A spokesperson for lines company Orion said sewer lines and water pipes have ruptured, and whole substations are offline.

Police said damage and power outages have been reported from as far away as Dunedin. The rail network in the South Island has been shut down while it is inspected for damage.

Colleen Simpson, from Christchurch, said everyone was out in the street in their pyjamas looking scared and worried. There was no power, buildings were down and the mobile network was failing.

"Oh my God. There is a row of shops completely demolished right in front of me," she said.

Simpson and her young family were heading to her sister's house, where there was still power, so everyone could be together.
Some Christchurch residents have reported chimneys have fallen in through roofs, ceilings have cracked and brick walls have collapsed.

Kevin O'Hanlon, from Mairehau in Christchurch, said it was unbelievable. "Just unbelievable. I was awake to go to work and then just heard this massive noise and, boom, it was like the house got hit. It just started shaking. I've never felt anything like it."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4094986/Massive-7-4-quake-hits-South-Island

[Pretorian]

Never heard of an e-q in NZ before. Is this a 2012 thing?

[yeahbut]

Never heard of an e-q in NZ before. Is this a 2012 thing?

Oh man, are you kidding? We're perched nicely on the Pacific ring of fire. The entire South Island is bisected by a fault line, half of it is heading north while the other half heads south- thats where our Southern Alps come from. Our capital city is built in the most earthquake prone part of the entire country, and our largest city, Auckland, is sitting on an active volcanic field

The last really devastating quake was in Hawkes Bay in 1931, killed 250 people and basically levelled the place. It's a tourist attraction now, because the whole town was rebuilt in the style of the time, which happened to be art deco.

Hope all the Kiwi members on the forum are OK.. best wishes and sympathies to you. I don't think there's much info out yet, if anyone has more feel free to post here.

Thanks sixstrings, I spoke to a friend from down that way just a few minutes ago, he said it was pretty scary. So far it seems like minor damage, chimneys falling etc is the extent of it, no reports of serious injuries fortunately.

[Xenophobe]

Never heard of an e-q in NZ before. Is this a 2012 thing?

Yes. The Brown Dwarf gets closer every day. Either that or the tectontic weapon the US used on Haiti now aimed at China accidentally discharged, missed and hit the Kiwi's. Everyone knows how difficult those earthquake weapons are to aim.

Or New Zealand sits on two different continental plates and is geologically active because of it, with a long history of earthquakes and such.

NAH...that can't be it....my bet goes with the tectonic weapon....

[yeahbut]

Reports starting to come in now of more serious damage, a few collapsed buildings, some badly injured people. A lot of broken pipes and blocked roads, probably going to be a state of emergency declared soon. It sounds like it was just on the good side of the line, magnitude-wise. Any bigger, closer, or shallower and we'd be looking at major carnage- a lucky escape really. Nothing is surer than that there will be a less lucky event sometime in the not too distant future in "the shaky isles"...

[sparky]

.
the land of the long white cloud is known on this side of the Tasman sea as the shaky isles
half of the population has cunningly protected themselves by moving to Sydney ,
they are all safe .

[yeahbut]

.
the land of the long white cloud is known on this side of the Tasman sea as the shaky isles
half of the population has cunningly protected themselves by moving to Sydney ,
they are all safe .

Ah that must be a cousin from the West Island of NZ

Yeah they are safe except for drought, fire, and death by croc, spider, snake, cane toad and bad, piss-weak beer

[sparky]

.
I totally resent that , piss weak beer , it's an outrage or a jib at Melbourne
Reshs beer is second to none ,and at least we got it in big glasses
the beer is so good , our local All Black supporters abuse of it every time they celebrate

[americandream]

Girlfriend woke up at 4.30 this morning to tremors. And we are way over in Tasman, about 500 kms from Christchurch!

[yeahbut]

.
I totally resent that , piss weak beer , it's an outrage or a jib at Melbourne
Reshs beer is second to none ,and at least we got it in big glasses
the beer is so good , our local All Black supporters abuse of it every time they celebrate

Yeah sorry sparky, that was a low blow- rag on my country all you like, but don't disrespect the bloody beer!

[yeahbut]

Girlfriend woke up at 4.30 this morning to tremors. And we are way over in Tasman, about 500 kms from Christchurch!

Wow, it was a biggie wasn't it. Mind you, I have woken on a saturday morning with the tremors before and there was no seismic activity...I'd just made the mistake of drinking Aussie beer the night before

Seriously tho, it really is incredible that no one was killed, eh? So much damage and everyone survived. Amazing.

[sparky]

.
yeahbut , you are offering some nice opening for joke about being brickproof
seriously , the damage done by an Earthquake depend a lot on it's depth too
the shallow one are worst on a lesser area

[yeahbut]

.
yeahbut , you are offering some nice opening for joke about being brickproof
seriously , the damage done by an Earthquake depend a lot on it's depth too
the shallow one are worst on a lesser area

Yep, for sure. Shallow earthquakes are defined as 70km or less below the surface, so this was a very shallow quake at 10km depth. It also caused a lot of damage due to 'liquefaction', effectively the liquifying of the earth beneath buildings and roads. This happened because the ground around Christchurch has a large component of sand and gravel, and was very wet from all the winter rain. The shaking of the earthquake turned the ground to quicksand beneath a lot of places, and consequently they subsided. As a result, a lot of structures are being condemned and will have to be demolished. People are reporting that geysers of sandy, muddy water erupted thru rifts in the floors of their houses during the quake...

[americandream]

Ouch! Aussie beer. What possessed you to drink that old bilge water, mate?

I was out for the count from working late so I slept throught the shakes only to be woken by an irate female. Of course, neither of us realised just how bad things were until the girlfriend's mum rang in from Blenheim later that morning.

Couple that with the South Canterbury Finance collapse and the tragedy on Fox Glacier and its been a bad few weeks for the Mainland.

Girlfriend woke up at 4.30 this morning to tremors. And we are way over in Tasman, about 500 kms from Christchurch!

Wow, it was a biggie wasn't it. Mind you, I have woken on a saturday morning with the tremors before and there was no seismic activity...I'd just made the mistake of drinking Aussie beer the night before

Seriously tho, it really is incredible that no one was killed, eh? So much damage and everyone survived. Amazing.

[yeahbut]

Ouch! Aussie beer. What possessed you to drink that old bilge water, mate?

I was out for the count from working late so I slept throught the shakes only to be woken by an irate female. Of course, neither of us realised just how bad things were until the girlfriend's mum rang in from Blenheim later that morning.

Couple that with the South Canterbury Finance collapse and the tragedy on Fox Glacier and its been a bad few weeks for the Mainland.

Indeed. I was thinking before, tho, how only last week I was reading reports of projected job losses of up to 20,000 in the construction industry over the next six months because all the big commercial projects are winding down. Maybe this will be a bit of a boost for the industry down there?

[americandream]

Definitely. I suspect the wealth generated by rebuilding the city and beyond will more than eclipse the loss we've suffered from the bailout of S Cantab and the cost of this quake. Still, you can't put a price on the loss of heritage. The city had some fine old buildings and pubs.

Ouch! Aussie beer. What possessed you to drink that old bilge water, mate?

I was out for the count from working late so I slept throught the shakes only to be woken by an irate female. Of course, neither of us realised just how bad things were until the girlfriend's mum rang in from Blenheim later that morning.

Couple that with the South Canterbury Finance collapse and the tragedy on Fox Glacier and its been a bad few weeks for the Mainland.

Indeed. I was thinking before, tho, how only last week I was reading reports of projected job losses of up to 20,000 in the construction industry over the next six months because all the big commercial projects are winding down. Maybe this will be a bit of a boost for the industry down there?

[Graeme]

I was sleeping on the 18th floor of the Grand Chancellor Hotel at the time. I was rudely awakened by the whole building moving from side-to-side about 2-3 feet. Drawers opened, complementary wine bottles fell and an ironing board fell in a cabinet. Shaking went on for about 2 minutes. Scary stuff. After shaking stopped, I made my way down stairs to lobby and outside. There were cracks in the walls of the stair-well and water on the floor. Also felt Mag 5 aftershocks. Thank goodness newer buildings were designed to withstand earthquakes of this size. Power resumed about 2 hours later so I checked out and drove out of the city without a scratch.

[dolanbaker]

Indeed. I was thinking before, tho, how only last week I was reading reports of projected job losses of up to 20,000 in the construction industry over the next six months because all the big commercial projects are winding down. Maybe this will be a bit of a boost for the industry down there?

Unfortunately, it's a bit like the Broken window fallacy a boost for those in the trade and related services but overall everyone is poorer due to the extra expence.

[yeahbut]

I was sleeping on the 18th floor of the Grand Chancellor Hotel at the time. I was rudely awakened by the whole building moving from side-to-side about 2-3 feet. Drawers opened, complementary wine bottles fell and an ironing board fell in a cabinet. Shaking went on for about 2 minutes. Scary stuff. After shaking stopped, I made my way down stairs to lobby and outside. There were cracks in the walls of the stair-well and water on the floor. Also felt Mag 5 aftershocks. Thank goodness newer buildings were designed to withstand earthquakes of this size. Power resumed about 2 hours later so I checked out and drove out of the city without a scratch.

Bro! That is some scary shit, I hope I never have to know what that feels like. Glad you're still with us

[Graeme]

Thanks. I'm glad I'm still here too. Actually, the drinks were not complimentary - I made a mistake. However, I wanted to share this article with you.

Haiti: 230,000 deaths, Canterbury: 0 deaths. Why?

Learning from past earthquakes (especially the magnitude 7.8 Napier earthquake in 1931), New Zealand has implemented stringent building codes. Modern homes are generally of timber-frame construction, which flex and absorb the energy of an earthquake. Modern commercial and office buildings are generally constructed with isolated foundations, while many historic buildings have been retrofitted with earthquake dampening devices. New Zealand is now a world leader in earthquake engineering.

Still, there was significant damage in Christchurch, most often to older un-reinforced brick structures, and in areas where liquefaction amplified the ground shaking. And of course, there was major damage to the water and sewerage infrastructure, and disruptions to power supply and transportation networks.

nzherald