When Things Go Bump in the Night…

Or in the very early morning, as was the case at 4:30 am Saturday when I awoke to a rather horrendous shaking. At first instance I thought I was waking up from a bad dream, tossing and turning. I shortly came to the realization, however, that it was not I who was shaking, but my bed. I shrewdly concluded that since my bed was shaking, my room must shaking, so the building must be shaking.

Earthquake.

This was my thought process in the 2-3 seconds it took my brain to go from “sleep” to “panic.” My next realization was that my bedroom is suspended two storeys above a solid concrete walkway. I determined that it would be in my best interest to leave the room and head for a location nearer to the support structure of the building – four thick, vertical concrete slabs near the centre. I wobbled unsteadily down the hallway, sat on the couch, and waited for the quaking to subside. I sat there listening as my rock and shell collection crashed to the floor, as stacks of coins for laundry tumbled onto my desk, as books fell off my shelves. I had left the door to my bedroom open and in the darkness (the power had gone out almost instantly after I woke up) I could hear it swinging back and forth as the rumbling continued.

Once the shaking subsided to walk-able levels I quickly dressed and, together with my flatmates, evacuated the flat and headed down to the lawn, where most of those students living in the Ilam apartments who were not home for break were now gathered. We were told that initial estimates of the magnitude of the quake placed it at 7.4. The lawn quickly became chaotic, with students calling and texting parents and friends and exclaiming to each other their disbelief at having come out of the ordeal unscathed. While the RAs began to search the buildings for stragglers our attention was quickly called back and we were instructed to move out of the crystal-clear night and into the one-storey common room to await the process of accounting for everyone. At about 7:00 am we were cleared to return to our flats. Though we did not have power I was in touch with a friend who told me that damage had been extensive but that the immediate effect on people was minimal, so my flatmate and I headed toward the bus stop to try to catch a ride into town. The buses, however, were not running, so we walked. Riccarton still had power and many of the shops were opening up. The damage was mostly done to unstable fences – there was only one fallen chimney. Walking through Hagley Park and nearing the city, however, we noticed cracks in pathways and flooding. As we walked by the Canterbury Museum and the old UC campus we noticed that decorative stonework had fallen from the tips of spires and smashed upon the pavement.

As we walked about the city the police were putting up tape, fire trucks were rushing every which way, big trucks carrying multiple bulldozers were rumbling down alleyways, and news and medical helicopters were criss-crossing overhead. Buildings were cracking and crumbling even as we walked – aftershocks had begun and already-weakened walls were simply buckling with increased agitation. I took the following pictures:




Some time in the afternoon the magnitude was revised to 7.1. The epicenter was identified as a rural area close to Darfield, about 30 km west of Christchurch. The quake occured approximately 16 km beneath the surface – quite shallow and, as a result, damaging. As I’m sitting here writing this (Sunday afternoon), the ground has not stopped trembling since the earthquake (for about 32 hours). It’s pretty much a constant swaying punctuated occasionally by an aftershock anywhere between 3.0 and 6.0. Thankfully the frequency of these aftershocks has significantly decreased since yesterday morning, but I have a feeling they’ll continue on for at least another day.

It is truly miraculous that nobody was killed. Only two people were seriously injured and one of them has already been released. Damage was extensive but not nearly as bad as it could have been. The city’s namesake, Christchurch Cathedral, was pronounced unharmed after examination by structural engineers.

The good that came out of this? Due to damages that the Vice Chancellor estimates will cost millions (not good), the University is closed for another week (good) – another week of break. I’m off to plan my activities!

I’ve been in contact with lots of you – thank you all for your concern and good wishes.