At 12.50pm
on 22 February, 2011, someone decided that Christchurch had not had enough. We
will never know why this verdict was reached but the penalty was harsh.
We have been visited by a vicious ripping apart of the earth and much
that we love in our beautiful city is no more. This of course refers to
both the poor souls who are no longer with us as well as the physical destruction.
Once again,
we begin our blog journey as we start to get back to normal and will make
periodic updates.
Today’s
message was written to reply to all those who asked how we were.
Thanks for
the email and your kind thoughts. We really do appreciate them and we do
need them. Our beautiful city is a mess, the Cathedral Spire is down, 65
are confirmed dead and many are still trapped in collapsed buildings.
Over 1000 people are sleeping in Hagley Park
but at least the big tents are up for the Flower Show and they are out of the
rain.
We are
shaken but safe. The Motel is structurally sound and we have power but no
water 10 hours after the quake. We should be back to normal in a day or
two and we are thankful for that. It is the wider city area and those
trapped, injured and dead that our hearts go out to.
The kids
were both at school and we spent a stressful 3 hours until we got confirmation
that they were ok. Being kids they were excited and we let them go take
some photos. It was not the time to lay down rules, this was their way of
coping and they are good, responsible kids. Some cops told them to get
out of the central city and go home….they said they live in the central city!
In a word,
it was massive, much bigger than the 4 Sep quake. In that quake we did
not have any damage in the rooms but this time we lost 95% of our plates, cups
and glasses and a few other things will require repairing. We will need a
massive shopping trip but we should be back to normal in a day or two!
In
September the quake was 30kms away and a magnitude 7.1. This time it was
situated pretty much under Lyttelton and it was only 5km deep. The
magnitude was only 6.3 but the shallowness and closeness made the result so
much worse.
Just as we
thought things were getting better after 4 Sep., we are back at step 0.
Tomorrow we take step 1, and then step 2. One step at a time till
we get back to normal again.
Thanks for
thinking of us! We really appreciate it.
Jeff/Naomi, so glad to hear you are all safe and sound. The news/pictures were horrifying, were worried about you. Hope life returns back to normal as soon as possible for you. Thanks for the blog updates.
ReplyDeleteRick and James (your Canadian friends)
We are sending you something by mail - is the post working or should we wait? John and Grace du Prie
ReplyDeleteWe stayed a couple of nights in your great motel about half a year ago. After we'd heard from this new earthquake we thought about you, so we are very glad to hear that you and your family are ok. All the best for these harsh times!
ReplyDeleteJasper & Amanda (The Netherlands)
Glad you are safe. My husband and I stayed at your accommodation in November during our honeymoon. We are saddened by what has happened in beautiful Christchurch. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone there.
ReplyDelete- Carmel & Chris
Hi Jeff and Naomi - Very happy to hear that you and your family were not hurt and damage to your place was minimal. We can't believe that we were their on Sunday! It is surreal. Our hearts go out to the people of Christchurch and those that have lost loved ones. We have some idea of the horror of experiencing an earthquake, being from Los Angeles. Thanks for the updates and we wish you well. Jackie and Fred (from Los Angeles - we stayed with you on Feb. 14 and 19)
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff, Naomi and family, we are shocked and saddened to see the news reports about what has happened to your beautiful city and friendly people. As if you folks have not suffered enough recently with earthquakes. However we are pleased to hear that your family and home are ok although our hearts go out to other folks in Christchurch who were not so fortunate. As you say Jeff, one step at a time and you and your family will get back to some normality again. All the best, Robert & Catherine, Scotland.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff/Naomi & Family, Lynne & Nero here from Adelaide, Australia. Thanks so much for putting details on your blog - it is so appreciated. Our hearts go out to you and all the beautiful people of Christchurch, the wonderful memories of sharing our lives with your beautiful city back in November will be cherished along with photos of buildings that will no longer be the same. Our days here are taken over thinking of you all and watching the shocking scenes on TV coverages. Just watched your Mayor being interviewed - he comes across so professional and thanked Australia for the fast and efficient support your city is receiving from our Search and Rescue teams etc. I think of you every night when I put my head on my 950 gm pillows like the ones in your rooms, but now I feel sad thinking of you instead of happy thoughts. On a positive note Congrats for being a Winner of Travellers Choice 2011 Trip Advisor, you guys deserve it and it is so unfair that you are back in this situation again as I remember you saying things became very quiet after the Sept. earthquake. So glad to hear you are all safe and that is the main thing. As you say, its all about "baby steps" back to normality.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff and Naomi!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you guys are safe!!!!!! my prayers and thoughts are with you!!!
Love Kat
Hi jeff & Naomi - I'm so glad to hear you and your family are safe. We stayed with you over Christmas & experienced the minor shakes on boxing day - I thought that was scary enough! We thought of you when we heard the news.
ReplyDeleteFrom Hannah & nick x
hey jeff and naomi
ReplyDeletesally and andy blane from WA here. can't believe we were staying @ your lovely hotel less than a month ago!! And now this- very happy to hear you are all well and feeling desperately sad for your beautiful city and the christchurch community in general.
We look forward to visiting again once the city is back on it's feet.
Stay well....
sally and andy
Jeff and Naomi,
ReplyDeleteThankful to read you and the family are ok and indeed it sounds like miraculously, the hotel has suffered limited damage. We stayed with you nearly a year ago - and so appreciated the place. It's always tragic when these things happen, they are so random and unexpected, at least Christchurch and New Zealand is prepared for it, the damage and loss of life would have been all the worse had it been a developing country. This is no personal attack on Christchurch, unlike the tragedy of Libya at this time or the deliberate killings in nations down through the centuries. There's no 'someone' to blame, we choose to build and live (and visit) in areas prone to earthquakes, we have to take the risk of living with the consequences. Very sadly, this has led to loss of life - and for this our hearts go out to the people of Christ Church and all who have lost loved ones in this natural disaster.
Helen
Thank God you are all ok, glad that I poke my nose around to see if you are ok by visiting your website...
ReplyDeleteFrancis Wong from Hong Kong, I stayed with you in August last year...
Hi Jeff & Naomi, really glad that you and your family are OK. We are so saddened to see the pictures and hear the terrible news from Christchurch. We stayed with you in January and really loved the city and it's people. Good luck to you all and we hope to see you again in the near future. Nick & Jane, Yorkshire, England.
ReplyDelete