Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Aftershocks and more aftershocks and

..... very frazzled nerves.

We are really and truly done with these rumbles and jumbles. There have been 270 aftershocks so far. Most have been between magnitude 3 and 4.9 with a few over 5.0. I feel as though I have just gotten off a long boat ride on the ocean but I feel that way 24 hours a day. Everything seems to be moving or shaking and I am beginning to wonder if I will ever remember the feeling of solid ground under my feet. To give you an idea of just how many frequent and strong shakes we have had, click here.

I was at work when a 5.1 magnitude aftershock hit at 7:49 am. This aftershock was very shallow and quite close to the city which made it feel a lot stronger. I was on the fifth floor of the hospital and ran for the doorframe while other staff hunkered under the desks. It didn't last long but it was a big enough jolt to cut power for a few seconds and to startle all of the mothers (and a few babies) on the floor. Breakfast was about to be served with no way to get the trays up from the ground floor since the elevators (lifts) were knocked out during the aftershock. So a posse of staff lugged the trays up the stairs and we delivered the new mothers their morning meal. Everyone was in a daze after this. Some staff were on the verge of tears and others were in tears. One co-worker headed home to be with her family- it was just too much for her to bear. I called Mike and heard the kids playing in the background, completely unphased by the last shock. These kids really are resilient and this made me feel a bit better about being away for the day.

Christchurch has never been seen as a big risk for a large earthquake. There is the Alpine Fault which runs along the spine of the South Island and is quite active. There are also the Porters Pass fault and the Hope fault which are a good distance from Christchurch. However, get this:
"The fault that ruptured the surface of Canterbury paddocks and produced the magnitude 7.1 earthquake has been quiet for at least 16,000 years. Underground, it split alluvial terraces deposited about 16,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. "

Are you effing kidding me? How unlucky are we to have been part of an event that hasn't happened for 16,000 years?!

Now before the Wellingtonians and other North Island folks get all uppity about how they escaped a big earthquake, it might be worth taking note of this:
"In 1929 there occurred, in west Canterbury, a magnitude 7 earthquake which turned out to be the first of a series of seven major, magnitude greater than 7, earthquakes over the next 13 years. The series included the second and third largest earthquakes in European times.... It is improbable that this occurrence of such large earthquakes in rapid succession was coincidental. There is no reason to think that such a series could not happen again."

Meanwhile, I sit here and just felt another jolt....and another....and another. Heart is a racing but I am hoping I can get some sleep tonight.





1 comment:

  1. How lucky you are to have experienced something that only happens every 16,000 years and to have experienced only minimal damage or loss. --Pollyanna

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