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

You're right about the communications - or lack of them - Kea. It's not been great. And the media have naturally latched onto certain stories and not others, which is always the case and gives the 'news' a certain imbalance. It surprises me that there isn't more direction and positive communication and press releases from Civil Defence.. but presumably they know what they're doing (I hope).

For instance, three days ago somebody died accessing a building in the CBD: he was electrocuted thanks to broken cables. I don't know the ins and outs, so can't comment on whether he had a permit to be there or in what capacity - it hasn't been reported widely at all. But that is an illustration of just one of the dangers of being inside the cordons. The same day the media was full of business owners arguing about not getting to their properties.

They are really doing it tough. So many people have their livelihoods tied up in buildings inside the cordon. And I can absolutely understand their anger about celebs and pollies being taken in on 'sight-seeing tours'. That's where better communication would help - to explain why those tours might be useful to Chchch to keep our plight in the media spotlight.

But the thing that would help the most is to give people an idea of the timetable for accessing various parts of the CBD - and at last that has happened. A media briefing yesterday afternoon provided us (yes, those of us who work in the bowels of Civil Defence are just as much in the dark) with a rolling timetable of opening up the CBD a block at a time over the next eight weeks. There will still be a 'red zone' around particularly perilous buildings (the hotel Grand Chancellor, the Cathedral and much of the area between the two for instance).

In the meantime, business owners can access their buildings for paperwork, servers etc if they meet particular criteria. They have to appear at the EOC and if all's well, they are assigned a safety team to take them into the cordons. So it's not a total lock-down.

How are you doing fb? Haven't seen you round for a while. Are things ok this afternoon?

How bout you Rod? Your people all ok?


(for others reading, there's been another couple of medium/big quakes in Chch this afternoon. No loss of life that I've heard, but more building damage, liquefaction, water and power off etc, a civil emergency has been declared).

Was thinking of fb this afternoon... Are you with us or still away in Oz? How are you?

We're OK, thanks. Well shaken again & again but not seriously.
The water feature slopped over again (the first place I looked when doglet screamed a warning - a couple of seconds before I felt it).

Another Brit couple resolved to go back.
I've heard that Kaiapoi has had another fairly bad shaking.

Yup, I'm okay. Still shakey though...

Glad to hear it, Fb.

Has your office relocated yet?

No1Son is hoping that he'll be able to work (more) from home, or that they get an office a bit closer to here. Recently he's been having to skirt around Chch - not good, especially in the evenings, for him.

We've been based in the Art Gallery - and had been told that'ld be the case until September at the earliest. However, have just heard that Art Gallery evacuated due to an adjacent building. So now have nowhere but home at which to work. And the R'ra Library of course

Traffic will be chaos again I suspect - the red zone looks as though it might be extended once more...

Glad to hear things are relatively well.

Rod, did you go into the R'ra Library and shout 'FRENCHBEAN'?

I'm so glad that you're safe. What a year!

No, kea, but people in the street keep asking me...

Hi my dear French bean,
and now you have been and had gone back and now you have another one.
Glad to know that this second time it was stilll not exactly on you. I do not know how you keep going......

big

Alsoran80
"Christiane"
Thursday 16th June, 2011 8.oo BST

23rd Dec

ARGH! I have just read on our news teletext pages that 2 more quakes have just hit Christchurch in the early hours of our time

I hope that you are ok love and that you are safe and welland not in any danger

Here's hoping for a quiet and still xmas

a message from Frenchbean


Hi Prof,

Not two, but 13 quakes since just before 2pm today.

I'm okay. Shaken of course, like everbody else here, in body and spirit. Bloody awful timing. I might put Christmas off a week.

Could you do me a favour please and let folk on hootoo know I'm okay? I am working in the Emergency Operations Centre in Chchch and can't log on to h2g2 for some reason.

I'm on a shift until 11pm - having got up to do a 'normal' day's work at 5am. Pooped isn't the word... A drive home and then the emergency whisky is likely to come out I think.

All the best
FB

Thanks for passing that on, Prof.
My very best wishes to Frenchbean, when you reply.

Rod

58 quakes since 2pm yesterday now

Glad you're okay, Rod. Shaken, I'm sure...

I just woke up, following yesterday's very late night in the EOC in Chchch. Hopefully the EOC will be closed later today and I shan't be needed again. If there are any more bigger shakes, it'll stay open and I may have to delay Christmas for real.

In the meantime I intend to chill out today. The garden needs me And I have a shopping list of paracetemol and emergency whisky

Thanks for all the messages - and thanks to Prof for posting my news last night.


Fb

Paracetamol sounds emergency but whisky? Depends on your brand, surely.

Glad you're all right

Glenmorangie - on special at the bottle shop. What queues though

The pav is in the oven <drool.

Personally, I've moved over to single malt since coming to live here - the wine is good, plentiful and often on offer.

Glenmorangie, hmm yes, OK I s'pose - how about the Grouse? (The Famous Grouse).

I must admit to spending more thjan I should on the malt and buy from Whisky Galore, on-line and currently favour 12-year-old Bowmore, which is as presentable as they come - except when there's a special offer (which doesn't seem to happen since the quakes - they lost their premises)
A few of those specials really are special.

Gin (Plymouth) for the pre-prandial comes from Topshelf Liquor - by the damn case, as No1 Son is with us at the mo, in a stressful job ... and isn't tonic water expensive? Phew!

Queues? Tell me about queues.
When we arrived, Rangiora was apparently the fastest growing NZ town and once we settled in, that became eminently believable. Now, it seems that the authorities are amending the limits to allow (encourage?) a population of up to 20,000. (for foreigners, that's relevant to the whole country population of 4 1/2 million - 1/4 of 'em on the South Island where we are).

Ah yes, Pav.

Furriners: Everybody's an expert on pav, (Pavlova that is). Our national dish. Dorty does a good one, Ms Stress is ok and learning (don't tell her I said that - promise?).