Prayers for New Zealand and those affected.

So far the organisation of the recovery seems to be going smoothly. The main trouble is the extensive damage to the water and sewerage system, which means that many are without water, and those that do have it are being advised to boil it. So you understand the seriousness of this, the flooding you see in New Brighton is actually from the broken systems (sewerage and water)—not from a river or the sea or anything.

It is amazing that there have been no fatalities (so far - other than one person who had a heart attack brought on) and only two people seriously injured.

The church shown is Hororata - a small settlement out of Christchurch. I don’t know what the insurance status of the diocese is, but assuming it is fully insured it should be alright. If they are underinsured though, things could get difficult.

See http://www.press.co.nz for pics and video.  The Deans of Homebush, good friends and family lawyer, sadly lost their 1880 homestead but safe themselves. 

There are quite a number of parts of the city badly affected - Kaipoi, New Brighton, Dallington, parts of the CBD, and near the epicentre some 40 km west of Chc near Darfield - while others just untouched.  There seems no pattern to the devastation.  Also some really weird effects: water and sand and clay geysering up at odd intervals and then flowing/ponding ...One side of our house is normal; the other covered in sandy clay near the main lawn! Sewer pipes here and there broken, plus roads uplifted etc. And it’s like that in many parts of town.  So considerable damage in parts and then complete escapes elsewhere! It will take months to assess and address adequately, tho the authorities at present are coping just brilliantly IMHO.

The real thing for me tho is this: Haiti endured a quake of 7.6 (I think it was); ours was 7.1.  YET with all our new and recent building techniques and designs now, only old brick housing was damaged (chimneys especially all gone!!) - and some high-rises on special lines of the quake.  I.e. if we know what we can actually do to prevent these things, then so much can easily be avoided [our own house built 10 years ago has only minimal contents damage, nothing structural at all, while just 50 metres away serious roofing issues and 40 metres the other direction cracks all round]. Only poor housing and cheap materials as in Haiti are asking for trouble ....  Curious yet hopeful, even as it once more reveals the world’s inequalities….