Alive

Yesterday we had another earthquake- a 6.3 magnitude quake- which has done massive damage to our city and has caused the loss of many lives. Currently there are an unknown number of people trapped in collapsed buildings. It looks like a war zone in the central business district. It was on a different fault than the September quake, and was closer to the city, which is why there is more damage. I was located not far from the central city, and dived under the table with one of my teacher assistants while we were jolted and rocked for what seemed like a long time. None of the students at school were hurt and we gave lots of cuddles and reassurance while they waited (in some cases) for hours to be picked up to go home. I was desperate to get home and back to Johnny and Miss Dog, but had to wait until my last student was picked up near to 5pm. We were so lucky out here. I'm sure our house got another good shaking, but nothing was damaged or moved much at all. The last huge earthquake was on the Greendale Fault which passes close to here. This one was located in the Lyttelton area, which is further from here. Apparently a major quake on one fault line puts pressure on others in the vicinity. Not reassuring news, and I'm glad I wasn't aware of that until yesterday. Who knows how many fault lines there are around here. The Greendale Fault was completely unknown until it ruptured.

We are thinking of the people trapped, killed or injured and have no idea if any friends are among the casualties. We have to boil our water and have no sewage system currently. Fortunately we have plenty of stored water and our electricity did not go off. I wish we could do more to help, but Johnny is in at his school, and I'm following civil defense orders and staying at home. I could be digging myself a longdrop toilet shortly. I'm glad I've been digging for victory and have plenty of veges in the garden.

We are so lucky and our thoughts are with the people who are not so fortunate.