New Zealand Earthquake

[TAdan]

I saw this on the news first thing this morning. It looked pretty bad.

[Nathan]

I feel so terrible. A few over on Wings over New Zealand warbird forum are signing in. I am waiting for a few on us-aircraft.com to report in.

[the330thbg]

Yikes.., this looks bad.

[Lynn Allen]

Dave, thanks for the reply. How did teh city of New Brighton (spelling ? sorry) make out in this event??

Lynn

[Cessna172RG]

@DaveM2:
I'm happy you and your relatives are OK, my thoughts for all those who suffered this quake, almost a year after we suffered the same in Chile.

Regards.

[DaveM2]

Thanks all.
Lynn, I hear New Brighton got hit quite bad, but haven't seen any pictures of that area to date.
Cessna -indeed, that's what you get for living on the 'Ring of Fire' I guess. Tragic though it is, it is still nothing compared to some of those in more populated countries and places which have little in the way of strict building codes. Little comfort to those who have lost loved ones of course.
Teams from all over are arriving - heartening to see such support from our friends around the globe.

Dave

[avenger2504]

Dave, thanks for the reply. How did teh city of New Brighton (spelling ? sorry) make out in this event??

Lynn

New Brighton is a suburb of Christchurch and it hasn't come through it very well I'm afraid, lots of damage, no power,water sewage etc. Lytellton (a harbour) has also not faired well. I live in the western Suburbs which have got off fairly lightly. Plus the engineering firm I work for is on that side of the city near Wigram and we are still up and running. Went in this morning to make sure our CNC milling machines were still in alignment, all good so they are purring away as I write!

[Lynn Allen]

Dave, thanks for the reply. How did teh city of New Brighton (spelling ? sorry) make out in this event??

Lynn

New Brighton is a suburb of Christchurch and it hasn't come through it very well I'm afraid, lots of damage, no power,water sewage etc. Lytellton (a harbour) has also not faired well. I live in the western Suburbs which have got off fairly lightly. Plus the engineering firm I work for is on that side of the city near Wigram and we are still up and running. Went in this morning to make sure our CNC milling machines were still in alignment, all good so they are purring away as I write!

Thanks, I have some friends who live there and hope they came out ok....

[Dave Homewood]

For the first time ever the authorities have declared this a National Emergency, and it has also been stated by civil defence heads that this is New Zealand's worst ever natural disaster.

It is so incredibly sad, so many people dead (officially 75 but it is expected to reach into the hundreds), so many more injured and homeless. It's such a tragic shame, and to happen to our most beautiful city with all its lovely old buildings and wonderful people breaks my heart.

[JDK]

It is a terrible tragedy Dave, and the main topic of conversation here in rural Vic.

That said, it's wonderful to see people just mucking in on the rescue effort streightaway; a credit to the people (and, no doubt, visitors) in Christchurch. Clearly there was a lot of selfless efforts by those lucky enough to survive the initial shock.

Tragic as the losses are, we should also be grateful for each and every rescue pulled off, too. Effort countering random chance.

I've also been amazed at the speed of international response - clearly the Australian and RAAF effort was on the button to go, which is a reflection of the current worries here as well, but I'm dead proud that we were able to weigh in as quickly and I hope as usefully as we did. New Zealand is even further a-long-way-from anywhere else than we are, but it's great so many other efforts are under way too.

I think it also fair to say New Zealanders incredible hospitality and friendliness to their many visitors over the last decades means that there's a lot of friends overseas who'll be pulling for - and hopefully donating to the recovery effort.

Wishing the best to our ANZAC cousins at this trying time,

[bdk]

New Zealand earthquake mission
Ipswich News - February 22, 2011
RAAF Base Amberley troops are helping in search and rescue operations after a deadly earthquake hit New Zealand yesterday.
An expert Queensland Fire Service Urban Search and Rescue Team will leave the base, near Ipswich, this morning to assist New Zealand authorities in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch.
The team will assist in the search and rescue of the up to 200 people reported missing, possibly trapped in the flattened buildings in the Christchurch CBD.
An air force C-17 Globemaster, operated by Number 36 Squadron, will be used to transport the team to New Zealand today.
It is believed medical teams are also on standby to be flown to the disaster zone, where about 8000 Australians are located.
The death toll stood at 65 late yesterday, but more bodies are expected to be pulled from the rubble today.
RAAF Base Amberley troops have had a hectic year with missions to help during the Queensland flood crisis and in the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi that hit far north Queensland.
RAAF Base Richmond, west of Sydney, has also been involved in the New Zealand crisis with search and rescue teams deployed on Hercules to help during the disaster.
There are fears hundreds of people could have died in the earthquake that measured 6.3 on the Richter scale at 12.51pm local time.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland said overnight that 148 Australian urban search and rescue specialists are being sent to Christchurch at the request of the New Zealand Government.
“These rescue teams are experts at recovering people who are trapped or affected by structural collapse and consist of highly training emergency services workers, doctors, engineers and search dogs,” he said.
“They have expert search, rescue, medical, engineering and support capabilities.”
He said Australia is ready to send more support if requested.
Premier Anna Bligh said Queensland Health also has an emergency medical team on standby consisting of emergency physicians, orthopaedic surgeons, general surgeons, burns specialists, anaesthetists and nurses.
“We will act on the advice of the Commonwealth Government and deploy this team as required,” Ms Bligh said yesterday.
“I want to express my sincere condolence and deepest sympathy to all those affected by the massive earthquake in New Zealand today.
“The situation in Christchurch is truly terrifying and distressing. Our thoughts and prayers are with all New Zealanders at this terrible time.
“As soon as Queensland authorities heard about this tragedy, immediate offers of assistance were made by the Queensland Government to New Zealand to provide specialist Urban Search and Rescue officers to assist in the response.
“Staff from Queensland Fire and Rescue Service have been liaising with their federal counterparts to determine what Queensland resources were required.
“I understand there has been significant damage to hospitals and emergency services facilities and equipment and we stand ready to help.
“The USAR team will be on a 10 day deployment and will carry 22 tonnes of equipment.
“Many of the team are specialists who have previous experience in the response to the Samoa and Sumatra earthquakes. We know too well the heartbreak of these events and we know how important it is to feel you have the support of others. Queensland will do we can to help New Zealand now.”
An emergency hotline has been established for Australians wanting to know about family and friends in the area. Call 1300 555 135.

[airnutz]

Awful news. Condolences for those lost and best wishes for recovering the missing. Sad days.....

[avenger2504]

Dave, thanks for the reply. How did teh city of New Brighton (spelling ? sorry) make out in this event??

Lynn

New Brighton is a suburb of Christchurch and it hasn't come through it very well I'm afraid, lots of damage, no power,water sewage etc. Lytellton (a harbour) has also not faired well. I live in the western Suburbs which have got off fairly lightly. Plus the engineering firm I work for is on that side of the city near Wigram and we are still up and running. Went in this morning to make sure our CNC milling machines were still in alignment, all good so they are purring away as I write!

Thanks, I have some friends who live there and hope they came out ok....

I think the news about the tower collapse was referring to the control tower at the Lyttelton road tunnel (2 Km long) which looks a bit like an ATC one I suppose.
Great to see all the international help coming in and I understand President Obama called our prime Minister John Key to see what else we needed. US search and rescue team arrives tomorrow morning.