# NZ Earthquake.... 6.3 Christchurch



## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

Seems a lot of damage in Christchurch, New Zealand from a 6.3 earthquake 

Reuters is reporting as many as 200 people still trapped. 65 dead.

Dr Grumps..... we need to to check in with the forum and confirm that you didn't cause it and that you're ok.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/new-zealand-earthquake-christchurch

At least 65 people have died after a powerful earthquake struck the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch, collapsing buildings, burying vehicles under debris and sending rescuers scrambling to help people trapped under rubble.

The 6.3-magnitude quake struck the country's second largest city on a busy weekday afternoon.

The mayor of Christchurch, Bob Parker, has declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city centre.

"Make no mistake this is going to be a very black day for this shaken city," he said.


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## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

PM of NZ, John Keys says this might be 'New Zealand's darkest day"

Apparently, the US are already on the ball..... sending specialists. Yay for us! Australia is sending help too. 

God bless the people of NZ.


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

lets hope the death toll will be light


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

FoxNews.com - Quake in New Zealand kills at least 65

 dang
reporting 65 dead already


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## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

DiveCon said:


> lets hope the death toll will be light



I'm watching the news right now.... it does not look good for NZ. And their PM seems to be saying to expect a higher death toll.... they've been having after shocks from the last one, about six months ago.... now this. I hope Grumps is ok.


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

California Girl said:


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i think grump in in OZ isnt he?


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## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

DiveCon said:


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I'm not sure. I always think he's in NZ.... but I could be wrong.


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

California Girl said:


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he's from NZ, but i think he said he lives in OZ


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## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

Man, the news coverage looks bad. Whole buildings collapsed down on themselves... I'd be surprised if the dead toll doesn't climb considerably. Let's hope not but, damn, Christchurch is devastated.


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

California Girl said:


> Man, the news coverage looks bad. Whole buildings collapsed down on themselves... I'd be surprised if the dead toll doesn't climb considerably. Let's hope not but, damn, Christchurch is devastated.


yeah, for living in a known quake zone, they didnt build properly


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

CNN reporting there could be over 200 people trapped in the building rubble


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## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

DiveCon said:


> California Girl said:
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Smaller quake than the 7.1 they had some months ago but, apparently, the damage is much worse. Maybe the first weakened the buildings.... I don't know... but watching the coverage it looks seriously bad for the poor people of Christchurch.


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## WillowTree (Feb 22, 2011)

I just woke. Seeing the pictures. Looks pretty devasting. My best wishes to the people of NZ.


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## Dr Grump (Feb 22, 2011)

Dive is right

From NZ been living in Oz for three years. From the North Island, not the South where Christchurch is.
They say that although it was lower on the Richter scale it was more devastating for a couple of reasons 1) it was during lunchtime during the week (the last one was on a Sat morning) 2) it was a lot closer to the surface (5km under the surface, the last one was 10 km under the surface).

Dive
Up until the earthquake on Sept nobody knew there was a fault line under Christchurch, thus the buildings were not earthquake proof, unlike Wellington, which is built on a known fault line. Most buildings built in Wellington in the past 40 years have to be constructed to strict guidelines. Not so CHCH, although I guess that will now change. 


CG et al, thanks for your kind wishes to my countrymen/women.


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## idb (Feb 22, 2011)

That's the thing, it wasn't a known quake zone - in fact the one last September took everyone by surprise.
Apparently since then they have had over 4,000 aftershocks...then this one.
Poor bastards there have been on edge for months.


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## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

Dr Grump said:


> Dive is right
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> From NZ been living in Oz for three years. From the North Island, not the South where Christchurch is.
> They say that although it was lower on the Richter scale it was more devastating for a couple of reasons 1) it was during lunchtime during the week (the last one was on a Sat morning) 2) it was a lot closer to the surface (5km under the surface, the last one was 10 km under the surface).
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Just don't think I was being nice to you or anything. 

Heartbreaking images from Christchurch..... really, very sad. I just hope the get the help they need asap. I hear the Aussies are already there - and the US is on the way....  bet the Brits show up too pretty damned soon. Times like this, it's all hands on deck.


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## Douger (Feb 22, 2011)

Damn shame. I *love* New Zealand and it's people.
I've got some friends there but way out in the boonies.

Dive Con was right though. I watched guys removing rubble. Where the hell is the rebar ?
Being " thrifty" has caused millions of lives over the years.


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## Dr Grump (Feb 22, 2011)

CG
Looks like everybody is helping out, which is cool..

Dougar
NZ is not thrifty when it comes to earthquake proofing buildings. In fact, NZ has some of the strictest building codes in the Western World. My old man's a builder, and I've jhelped him build a few houses. In my 40 years living in Auckland, there has only been one very slight tremor and that was three years ago. Like CHCH, Akld is not known for its earthquakes. Mind you, it's built on 40+ extinct/dormant volcanoes! And even then I didn't feel it the tremor. My wife did but she grew up in earthquake country. I didn't believe her, but sure enough 10 minutes later, the news said there had been a tremor. 

Anyway, thanks all for good wishes and mucking in to help...


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## Douger (Feb 22, 2011)

idb said:


> That's the thing, it wasn't a known quake zone - in fact the one last September took everyone by surprise.
> Apparently since then they have had over 4,000 aftershocks...then this one.
> Poor bastards there have been on edge for months.


Planet earth is a quake zone. Build accordingly.
Doc.
Glad to hear they have the codes in place but looking at some of those buildings they either weren't implemented or were built before they were mandated.
Anyhoo. Good luck to the Kiwis. They'll get it back together !


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## Ringel05 (Feb 22, 2011)

Dr Grump said:


> Dive is right
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> From NZ been living in Oz for three years. From the North Island, not the South where Christchurch is.
> They say that although it was lower on the Richter scale it was more devastating for a couple of reasons 1) it was during lunchtime during the week (the last one was on a Sat morning) 2) it was a lot closer to the surface (5km under the surface, the last one was 10 km under the surface).
> ...



Good to see you're alright!  My best wishes and prayers for you and your countrymen/women.


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## California Girl (Feb 22, 2011)

Dr Grump said:


> CG
> Looks like everybody is helping out, which is cool..
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> Dougar
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I'm just glad your Grumpy old ass is well away from the shit.


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## Toro (Feb 22, 2011)

We have a few Kiwis here.  Hope you and your families are okay.


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

Dr Grump said:


> Dive is right
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> From NZ been living in Oz for three years. From the North Island, not the South where Christchurch is.
> They say that although it was lower on the Richter scale it was more devastating for a couple of reasons 1) it was during lunchtime during the week (the last one was on a Sat morning) 2) it was a lot closer to the surface (5km under the surface, the last one was 10 km under the surface).
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also the type of soil had an effect
they were saying there was a lot of liquefaction going on

and how could they NOT know it was either on or near a fault line?
it was right on the edge of the tectonic plates?


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## idb (Feb 22, 2011)

DiveCon said:


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I'm no seismologist but, until there is seismic activity I'm guessing that there's no other way of telling.


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## Dr Grump (Feb 22, 2011)

DiveCon said:


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Christchurch is situated on the eastern seaboard of the Canterbury Plains....IOW the Southern Alps (where there is a fault line), although visible frm CHCH are miles away. CHCH has never had any modern record of seismic activity....


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## hipeter924 (Feb 22, 2011)

I arrived back in NZ at Auckland airport. around 1 or 2 hours after the Earthquake, the radar across the country was down for a while. Christchurch airport is closed and 75 are dead as of today, and dozens more believed trapped under rubble so wouldn't surprise me if it reaches 90 or 100 by the end of the week. Very sad day none the less, feel sorry for them. 



> LATEST:      The sun broke through the clouds at the precise moment a woman was  pulled alive from the Pyne Gould Corporation (PGC) building about 2.15pm  today, but another 14 are still believed to be trapped in the rubble.
> There are also grave fears that the Hotel Grand Chancellor building  in downtown Christchurch may collapse, with the building visibly  slumping.
> The city was hit by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake yesterday, with 75 deaths confirmed.
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More here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/chr...0/Christchurch-quake-toll-75-hundreds-missing


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## westwall (Feb 22, 2011)

California Girl said:


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This most recent quake was much shalower.  Christchurch is a wonderful town, I have friends who teach at Canterbury and I have been talking with them and it is utter devestation.  My place in Riccarton has been knocked flat (another building landed on it).  New Zealand averages a 7.0 quake every 10 years but they have been located in the north island for the most part.  Christchurch is a fairly old town with older buildings put up before more modern building codes.  A very sad time for all concerned.


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## westwall (Feb 22, 2011)

idb said:


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You can trench an area but Christchurch is built on quaternary aluvium so you would have to trench pretty deep to find the evidence.  You can also use seismic tests where you dig a bunch of holes down several hundred feet and set up seismometers and other remote sensing moniters and then detonate explosives around the area you want to map.  the sound waves will map out the undersurface formations and fault lines fairly well.  It is however very expensive.


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## westwall (Feb 22, 2011)

DiveCon said:


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The plate fault line is around 100 miles west of Christchurch.


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## DiveCon (Feb 22, 2011)

westwall said:


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yeah, i found that out later
its completely onn the other side of the Island


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## The Infidel (Feb 23, 2011)

Ringel05 said:


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X2.... My prayers to everyone in that area.

This story has been lost among all the turmoil in the world. Thats too bad


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## The Infidel (Feb 23, 2011)




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## Neets (Feb 26, 2011)

Newest up date on the earth quake in New Zealand they have reported today about 145  death and over 200 still Missing


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## strollingbones (Feb 26, 2011)

a very sad time for new zealand....

one thing i have noted, no one is saying this is due to them being this or that...like they tend to do with a muslim country is hit....you know all the talk of god's will etc....those voices are silent on this....


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## Neets (Feb 26, 2011)

I think they are worried Now if they have another earth quake that the Volcano's could be woken and then they could be more then 175 deaths


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## hipeter924 (Feb 26, 2011)

strollingbones said:


> a very sad time for new zealand....
> 
> one thing i have noted, no one is saying this is due to them being this or that...like they tend to do with a muslim country is hit....you know all the talk of god's will etc....those voices are silent on this....


Don't hold your breath, NZ is a rather agnostic-atheist leaning nation these days, they will find some reason like "god is angry because babies were aborted" or "those evil New Zealanders were punished for moving from the path of god" or some such. 

But personally I don't care about that now, that guy that said Australians deserved the floods and bush fires will be lynched if he comes to New Zealand too.


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## DiveCon (Feb 26, 2011)

hipeter924 said:


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the fringers will always find something
i tend to not pay attention to them


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## editec (Feb 26, 2011)

DiveCon said:


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They knew...just like people know all over the earth that they live in quake zones.

Look at the map below and you'll see how impossible it is for mankind to avoid such dnager

If mankind didn't build on or near tectonic plates mankind couldn't live in much of Asia, the Mediterranian, or the West Coast of North America.

A billion (probably more) people would have to move thousands of miles to move out of those active quakes zones.


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## DiveCon (Feb 26, 2011)

editec said:


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actually, the fault line runs about 100 miles away from Christchurch
on the other side of the Island


but my point was not about building near fault lines so much as not building PROPERLY in a fault zone


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## idb (Feb 26, 2011)

editec said:


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There's nothing like living on the edge!


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## hipeter924 (Feb 26, 2011)

DiveCon said:


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Actually most (if not all) of the cities were founded before we knew much about plate tectonics (even though the idea was around for a while the scientific community never took it seriously till the late 20th century), it's a bit of a little too late now. It's not like once you have built a place (and in this case an entire country) you can just pack up all the buildings and leave, in any case large Earthquakes are rare and it is likely Christchurch won't have another large Earthquake for a century or more as a result of the two recent ones.


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## DiveCon (Feb 26, 2011)

hipeter924 said:


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well, there are things that can be done to make those buildings more quake resistant
they've done that in a lot of Califonia towns and cities
and all NEW construction must be that way


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## westwall (Feb 26, 2011)

hipeter924 said:


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Plate tectonics and weathering are responsible for making the geography that favours human population.  Building codes are essential in quake areas but even the best codes can't prevent stupid people from building in extremely dangerous areas.  Below is a picture of the Palmdale area of California, notice how close the homes are being built to the San Andreas fault (now there are actually homes built ON TOP OF THE FAULT), the last time this section of the fault broke it moved around 26 feet.  This section has been locked since 1857 I believe and is long overdue for a quake and when it comes it will be a doozy, probably an 8.1 plus.


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## hipeter924 (Feb 27, 2011)

> LATEST:      The grim task of burying the earthquake's dead has begun today with the tragic funeral of five-month-old Baxtor Gowland.
> *Police have confirmed 148 deaths following Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude  quake in Christchurch, but so far only eight victims have been  officially named.
> Police have said they expect the official toll to reach 200 with dozens more still missing.   *
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Sad farewells for earthquake victims begin | Stuff.co.nz


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## Meister (Feb 27, 2011)

DiveCon said:


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Japan has state of the art technology for earthquake proof buildings, also.


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## percysunshine (Feb 27, 2011)

California Girl said:


> Seems a lot of damage in Christchurch, New Zealand from a 6.3 earthquake
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> Reuters is reporting as many as 200 people still trapped. 65 dead.
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Very sad. Christchurch is a wonderful town.


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## Samson (Feb 27, 2011)

How many Sheep died?

I've heard nothing about sheep.


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## hipeter924 (Feb 28, 2011)

Samson said:


> How many Sheep died?
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> I've heard nothing about sheep.


They were in the outskirts, not in a city area...due to noise restrictions and probably several by-laws prohibiting sheep in built up areas. They were spooked (not killed) in smaller towns and suburbs by Christchurch though.


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## Samson (Feb 28, 2011)

hipeter924 said:


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Well, I hope they've received some grief councelling.


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## hipeter924 (Mar 1, 2011)

Samson said:


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They are ready and waiting in red nylon for you, as long as you call yourself Bob.


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