h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

12,000 to 22,000. Phew, damn near 50% - there must be lots more towns in similar circumstances - and gladly.

Memorial: I reckon it's about right. The longer you wait the cooler it becomes, the more attention pointed at the actual recovery, the less in the media - and then the bickering starts. No, I reckon now is about right.

That video ...
well, I'll give No1Son the link & ask (if he watches) which building was his.

Video clip doesn't work for me either here on from the email. Just get a Crown Copyright notice. Anyone else getting the same?

Wonder if it is because I am outside NZ?

Websailor

Thanks for posting the link to the video Frenchbean. It looks as if the whole city has been bombarded. My sympathy goes out to the inhabitants and business people alike. I can't imagine how long it will be before all the scars are healed and the city is restored.

Websailor, that Crown Copyright notice goes on a bit - unusually, it gives you time to read it.
Try dragging the moving blob on a bit. 30sec should do it.

Oh, and quite a few of those curved edges are due to the camera lens.

I hope you saw the video, Websailor? Yes, it's a long notice at the front...

People who have been into the cordon have told me that those images are good, but still show only a fraction of it Where on earth do we start?

Sorry for being impatient folks, I have now persevered and watch it through. It is devastating to see so many beautiful buildings damaged beyond repair, and there must be many, many more that cannot be considered safe.

Three things struck me: the eerie emptiness, the strange things that survived unscathed, and the hopeful sound of birds singing in spite of everything. It is hard to believe that the human toll was not so much worse.

Frenchbean, Christiane asked me to say your reports of the earthquake and aftermath leave her shaken but with great admiration for your personal courage, and I second that.

I hope you all know that in light of the more recent disaster in Japan you are not forgotten, even though it has eclipsed other events in the media, and now of course we have got ourselves in another fine mess in Libya which is dominating the news!!

to everyone


Websailor

Hi folks Apologies for the silence. I'm working 3 days on and 3 days off in the EOC and am so wound up and tired at the end of my shifts that I'm incapable of stringing more than a few words together on the keyboard.

The latest is that business owners in the central city (who haven't been into the area and therefore don't necessarily understand just how dangerous it is) are getting increasingly impatient to access their buildings and recovery equipment/belongings. A handful broke the police/army cordon a couple of days ago and were caught and cuffed for their trouble.

It's a huge dilemma - totally understandable that people are getting seriously antsy, but also totally unrealistic to open up the CBD to people given that a small tremor could bring down more rubble on people's heads.

Civil Defence and the EOC are slowly getting areas opened up, but it's too slow for many I can see tensions likely to rise as the days/weeks pass.

We had a corker of an aftershock on Sunday evening, which did indeed bring down a bit more stuff - and further damaged houses and other buildings in the suburbs. It was a 5.1 magnitude, just 10km deep and 10km east of the CBD. For those of you interested, here is another site which is recording and playing with the stats of the tremors... some quite illuminating and intersting maps and graphs emerging... http://quake.crowe.co.nz/

In addition to grumpy business owners, there have been some alarming increases across the city in alcohol and drug-induced incidents. And the police and social services are cold-calling households with a history of domestic violence to check up on people. After September 4th there was a 60% increase in reported events, so they are expecting a lot more this time and trying to cut some of it off before it happens

That's all for now. I'm going to enjoy my day off...

Fb

I'll bet there's trouble with the odd looter as well -a non human species


just you look after yourself loveyour health is first and foremost, not hootoo

Glad you are keeping well despite aftershocks Frenchbean!



It will always be the same though. Impatience to get back to the office no matter what. I have no sympathy for such folk....

Greed runs their lives. Let them in, then watch out for the bits when a slight shock brings their world tumbling down.......

Not heartless......The only people going in should be the rescuers/recoverers. They do not understand that digging out their laptop could have disasterous consequenses!




GT

Keep safe FB! I have replied to your e-mail

Thanks for the update Fb. Thinking of you always.

Websailor

I'll prepare Ms Stress & No1 son...

If needs be, Fb, 2879

Thanks Rod

I'm off back into the City at lunchtime for my next shift... amid all sorts of news about new processes for business-owners and opening the outer cordons. It'll be interesting to see how accurately the media are reporting what's happening. I suspect not very, if events of last weekend are anything to go by.

Fb

Good luck Still thinking of you amid all the chaos. I can´t imagine how long it will be before all the reconstruction is finished.

It'll be years Lb.

>>Impatience to get back to the office no matter what.

That's not quite it. It's business owners needing to access things that will stop their business from going bankrupt. So it's not necessarily about greed, it's about people's livelihoods.

I think a large part of the problem is that the communication systems have been poor. People have found out about their buildings being demolished by seeing it on TV Also, the way the law stands at the moment, the demolition firms can have salvage rights of whatever is in the building. Both those situations would be enough to make my blood boil were I a business owner within the red zone.

There's also the fact that they've let visitors into the red zone, not just workers.

I suppose that insurance will have to cover certain damage costs? But continuous lack of trade for a longish period will be the death knell for many businesses.

with Christchurch and Japanthe cost of iron ore and other metals will go sky high, as the rebuilding starts

I still haven't gotten the insurance thing clear in my mind (do you know fb or Rod?). Private homes get up to $100,000 cover by EQC (govt disaster fund), and most will also have private insurance above that to market value (god knows how market value is now assessed). I think they also get 6 months of cover for their mortgage if they have to vacate, but it can take EQC inspectors longer than that to assess damage and what will happen to a house and after that they can be paying mortgage *and* rent.

I don't know about businesses. I would guess that like private homes there will be some cover, but not enough generally.

Chch has a population of 390,000. They reckon that something like 62,000 are not able to work currently (work place is close) and that number is rising. Those people get wage assistance for a period of time. Just over 6,000 have lost their job permanently and will eventually be on the dole or leave town.

Hi Kea 42! I do know how to get to FB; but I'm certain she will get your message on here.

Scorp

Can't answer, kea, sorry.