More news on the New Zealand situation

Earthquakes, storms and flooding – what passes as normal in NZ?

For previous info, see my post from yesterday and a post from @trevor.george who’s in the Wellington emergency response team.

It has been confirmed that there were actually two earthquakes (presumably this is why it went on for so long) at a magnitude of M7.8 (originally estimated at 7.5)

There have been over 2000 aftershocks.

We are now seeing news from the small town of Waiau which was closest to the epicentre. Their power and water supply have been restored, but water to the rural areas is still disrupted, causing concern for stock.

Carnage inside the Waiau pub - Source

Over 400 tourists have been successfully evacuated from Kaikoura. The State Highway will remain impassable for the foreseeable future. The inland road from other parts of rural north Canterbury was open to military vehicles for a while today, and a water tank was brought in. But due to more heavy rain this afternoon, and more slips, it has closed again.

Checks are continuing into the welfare of people in isolated areas, with most areas having been checked now.

In the Wellington CBD, more buildings have been evacuated. One of the main thoroughfares through the city has been partly cordoned off due to a building that has been closed and neighbouring buildings evacuated.

The new Defence department building will be uninhabitable for about a year. This is one of a number of government departments who have been moved to new buildings in the last couple of years. These new buildings were supposedly earthquake proof, and it was thought this would prevent disruptions to vital government work, in the event of a disaster. Unfortunately, in at least two cases, the old buildings they were in are still fine, but the new ones are badly damaged. Needless to say, questions are being asked!

There has been more rain today, and the winds are picking up in Wellington. Overnight and into tomorrow, we’re likely to have more rain and gale force winds, probably causing more flooding and slips.

Currently public transport into the capital is mostly running but with delays. I’m supposed to be going across to the other side of the city tomorrow morning to teach a class. Who knows whether this will happen!

As things change, I’ll probably do more short posts on the situation. But as I catch up after my six day training course, I’m keen to get back to my more usual recipe and health posts.

Thanks for reading

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Some of my previous posts:

THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE: My Intro ~ Are there kiwis in the house? ~ Benefits of joining a community choir ~ My grandmother’s legacy ~ Steemit in downtown Wellington ~ Overcoming my fears ~ Observations from a bus ~ The brandy snap maker ~ Wearable Arts Award Show ~ 2 months on Steemit and now curating health, nutrition and recipes ~ Positivity Challenge 3 – Acts of kindness ~ Positivity Challenge 4 with a twist ~ Positivity Challenge 4 – Emotional Freedom Technique Part 1 ~ EFT Part 2 – Getting started ~ News on the NZ earthquake