Christchurch Earthquake

When I woke up Tuesday morning my initial thought was that this was going to be my last un-scheduled, uneventful day before registering for classes and getting into the swing of things the Wednesday, but I was very, very wrong.

As part of what I am calling my Kiwi Experience, I got dressed and left my room without my shoes as I will continue to do for the next week.  (In NZ there are very few places that require shoes.  For example, the day before I had rode the bus to nearby Rolleston and gone shopping without shoes.)  While sitting in the lobby checking my e-mail, my friend Felix asked me to go to Christchurch with him so he could get soccer shoes.  Thinking purely of my feet, I turned down his offer and watched as he left.

About an hour later, Shelby and I walked over to the book store to see about sending gift back to the US.  Then, at 12:50, we exited the door of the book shop and were standing there trying to decide what to do next. Suddenly, it sounded like a herd of people were running on the floor above us. 

Then we felt the earthquake.  It is such a weird feeling to have the ground under you move so violently.  We heard screams from people in the book store and when we looked in, books were falling off the shelves.  Unsure of what to do, Shelby and I just stood in the open hall until the ground stopped moving before heading outside.

At first, I was laughing, excited to have experienced my first earthquake.  When I looked around however, the only people who looked happy were the international students so I began to realize how severe it might be.  As we walked back to our dorms, I heard a lady say "I reckon that was close to a 6.1".

Prior to hearing her comment, I had thought it would have been a 2 or 3 from my previous TV watching knowledge and UNEXPERIENCE of being in earthquakes.  I was very, very wrong however.  When reports started coming in, they said it was a 6.3 at a very shallow level.  Still unaware of what was going on, I began asking around.  I also had a chance to jump on my facebook and post that I had been in an earthquake.  As I was talking to one of the RA's, we were hit again as an aftershock shook the ground beneath us.

During the next few minutes, all the students were evacuated from their dorms and brought to the Cafeteria where they tried to keep us calm and together.  While sitting there waiting for news on our rooms, another quake shook the building.  People ran outside and dove under tables, but the group of us from Colorado simply sat there because we had been told we were safe..... and didn't know how to react if we weren't.

For the next few hours, we sat in the Cafeteria as news came in on the TV showing the City Center of Christchurch destroyed in places.  It looked so grave and it was hard to comprehend that the same shakes that had shock beneath us and left us unharmed could be destroying so many places and hurting/killing the people in town. 

 

One of the most historic places in Christchurch, the Christchurch Cathedral, was gravely damaged when the green tower crashed down within the building.  It is still hard to comprehend how a building we were in just a few days before could crumble to pieces in seconds.  Seeing this image made the whole ordeal real for me, and worried sick about my friend Felix.

When they let us back into our rooms about five o’clock, I grabbed my computer so I could let my family know that I was ok.  It was then that I actually found out that people had died in the city.  Reports showed that atleast 63 people were confirmed dead with hundreds more trapped.   They even compared the scene on TV to that of 9-11, hitting very close to home for us American students.

According to the Christchurch Quake Map, 56 quakes hit the Christchurch area on the 22nd and so far, another 30 have hit this area today. ( Click here to see the quakes )  So…. it is really hard here in the Christchurch area right now and I know the people here would truly appreciate your prayers.  Homes can be rebuilt eventually but things take time. And people can’t be replaced.  Please keep the family and friends of those missing, injured and killed here in your thoughts and prayers. 

Also, I have still not heard from my friend Felix. 

Please pray for his safe return soon.