New Zealand EARTHQUAKE!

[erewhon]

Another major earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand at 12.52 pm today, electricity cut ,buildings collapsed, many people injured and 1 person reported dead.

This quake today felt almost as bad as the September quake.

Thank goodness the Volendam was visiting yesterday, and not today.
Am sure some of the passengers visiting Picton today would have felt the quake, as it was felt around most of the South Island.

[wwinfl91]

I hope no one was hurt or killed in today's earthquake. I'm also glad HAL's ship was gone by then.

[erewhon]

Unfortunately,there are reports of several fatalities, the epicentre of the quake today, was only 5 km from Lyttelton, the port. I understand that there is another cruise ship visiting today, but am unable to access the port webcam.

There have been several quakes since the major 12.52pm quake, buildings continue to collapse, two buses were crushed with the falling debris.

The situation is very serious.

[Australian family]

I hope no one was hurt or killed in today's earthquake. I'm also glad HAL's ship was gone by then.

Unfortunately they are saying there is fatalities, so many people were at work when this quake occurred, not like the one last September which happened during the night.

[Robin7]

It is just sad! The Christchurch Cathedral tower collapsed. The news reports are early, but it does look like people were killed. Terrible. Just terrible.

I loved Christchurch when we were there on the Volendam in October 2008. It is a lovely city.

Two earthquakes of that magnitude in six months is a tragedy beyond understanding.

Robin

[themerle]

This is sad. I'm praying for the people in the area of the quake.

[pmd98052]

My family live in Christchurch - I've been able to get hold of my mum but not my sister and her kids yet. Phone lines are basically down I think it was a complete fluke I got through the first time... Damage is much worse this time - many trapped in buildings and the city cathedrals spire collapased... Lyttelton harbor where the ships dock was the epicenter and is badly damaged.

Latest updates:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10707997

[maxmia]

Terrible earthquake in Christchurch, please pray for the trapped victims.

[Happy_Ozzie]

Was recently in Christchurch on the volendam and got to see all the damage done to the buildings by the earthquake in September. Its heart breaking to see the pictures comming out of there today. It was my favourite place in New Zealand and as a Aussie I have so many kiwi friends my heart just goes out to all the people involved.

[smalldog]

Spent a lovely day in Lyttelton while on the Volendam over Christmas... a beautiful town full of warm, friendly people. I can't stop wondering how they all fared today, since Lyttelton was the epicentre...

Reports now say 65 confirmed dead. This is just so awful. Our prayers are with you NZ. May all those still trapped be safely rescued, and may the emergency services have the strength to cope and the wisdom to plan effective strategies.

[erewhon]

There have been aftershocks this afternoon, we are hoping for a calm night.
A lot of people will be too scared to go to bed tonight.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Lyttelton has recieved damage too. I don't remember what the news report said exactly but a fish and chip shop and the supermarket were damaged.

The ship currently in port is the MS Europa and this is a post from facebook:

The earthquake was definately felt onboard the Europa. The whole ship shook, a chandelier in the ship fell down, and there was some other minor damage onboard. There were 120 passengers from the ship in Christchurch at the time. This information from a reporter on Channel 9 News.


Her webcam is followin but I am not sure if it is updating since it seems to be identical to when I looked ages ago: http://www.hl-************/redwork/do.php?layoutid=100&node=308957&language=2

[Krazy Kruizers]

i just heard and saw this on the morning news -- so sad for everyone

[Krazy Kruizers]

just saw this on the morning news -- prayers for everyone

[onthegogirl]

My heart goes out to the people of Christchurch and all our Kiwi friends on CC. I pray that the rescue efforts are successful and the rebuilding of this beautiful city can begin soon.

[kazu]

our prayers are with them -so sad

[kazu]

This is truly tragic. Our prayers are with all of our New Zealand friends.

[Sage]

My heart and prayers go out to the people of Christchurch. May the missing be found alive and well.

[Himself]

I am sorry to learn of this tragedy.

[Clay Clayton]

Have a friend aboard, hope their cruise won't be too disrupted and hate it for all the locals. DDP and I were in South America last year just after the earthquakes in Chile and it was terrible, hate to think of it happening to others.

[Cruising-along]

So sad to hear this.....prayers for all involved.

[Cruising-along]

Saying prayers.....so sad to hear about this.

[Scrapchick]

My husband is on the Volendam right now. He e-mailed me about the earthquake, which happened after they had departed and said the captain had made an announcement about it on board. Everything is fine with the ship, but obviously Christchurch is devastated and it is terrible news.

My hubby is feeling quite fortunate at the moment...

[mamaofami]

Isn't this where Ruth C is heading in a few days ?

I feel awful for all the devastation to the city.

[Sir PMP]

Isn't this where Ruth C is heading in a few days ?

I feel awful for all the devastation to the city.


Yes, Ruth is on her way and so am I, there won't be a stop in Christchurch as you can understand...

[the2ofus]

Less than two and a half months ago my Dear Sis and I were standing in the cathedral square admiring all the beautiful historic buildings. Had lunch in a shopping arcade and visited several of the shops bordering the square. Hard to imagine the devastation there now. At the time, we were saddened by the damage to many neighborhoods by the previous quakes. So many lives disrupted then and now so much more damage. My thoughts are with all who are affected by this disaster.

[frbob]

Our thoughts and prayers are with the wonderful people of Christchurch. We were there in late October last year, aboard the Volendam, and it seemed they were making great progress with fixing up from the previous earthquake. We love Christchurch and the people there. We wish them well and hope they can somehow come to grips with this terrible tragedy.

[smalldog]

Lyttelton has recieved damage too. I don't remember what the news report said exactly but a fish and chip shop and the supermarket were damaged.


We ate lunch in the fish and chip shop. Lovely friendly Asian family running it. I do hope they were not injured.

[Robin7]

Remembering Christchurch (Pix from October 2008)

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/183000_1872447211466_1249712556_2199614_1884024_n. jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/183920_1872447651477_1249712556_2199615_254879_n.j pg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/182428_1872447851482_1249712556_2199617_1454795_n. jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/183564_1872448171490_1249712556_2199618_736228_n.j pg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/183188_1872448411496_1249712556_2199619_7569336_n. jpg

[Robin7]

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/180472_1872448931509_1249712556_2199621_101709_n.j pg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/184976_1872449491523_1249712556_2199624_267056_n.j pg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/180132_1872449971535_1249712556_2199626_8090123_n. jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/179800_1872450371545_1249712556_2199627_3158264_n. jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/183088_1872450771555_1249712556_2199629_6853151_n. jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/183768_1872451211566_1249712556_2199630_1777319_n. jpg

[Robin7]

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/182196_1872452251592_1249712556_2199633_8344089_n. jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/183832_1872452611601_1249712556_2199634_4785575_n. jpg

One of the loveliest cities I've ever had the privilege of visiting, and the people were so very friendly. I pray they will suffer no more earthquakes.

Robin

[LoyHAL]

Lovely photos!

We were in Christchurch just a bit ago and were devastated to hear of the damage and loss of lives in one of our favourite stops on the cruise. A terrible terrible loss.

LoyHAL

[maxout]

And now... :(


http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/0221-quake/9625074-1-eng-US/0221-QUAKE_full_600.jpg

[DFD1]

The devastation and loss of life are terrible. Our prayers and thoughts are with casualties and their families.

Christchurch is a really beautiful city, filled with nice people.

My college roommate is from Christchurch and was married in the cathedral there. A beautiful church; it is so sad to see it in ruins.

[jhannah]

This is truly tragic. Thanks for the beautiful "memorial" photos, Robin. I know cruisers are disappointed that Christchurch will be off the grid for a while ... but that's nothing compared with the local lives so severely affected by this tragedy. Prayers to all.

[erewhon]

Robin
I really appreciate you taking the time to post these photos of when Christchurch was a beautiful city.
Thank you.
The aftershocks continue.

[kiwijohn]

I spent five years at university in Christchurch and visit the city often. It is one of my favourite cities. One thing that has always impressed me about Christchurch which I have experienced in no other city is the wonderful community spirit of its citizens. This is borne out in the recent earthquake. I am sure that the Christchurch people will be heartened by your support and prayers on this site. As 80% of Christchurch is without power they cannot access their home computers and wifi and 3G is out too. Limited texting is available. I live in Wellington and of course everybody was expecting the next big one to be there as we are in the middle of a fault line - to happen in Christchurch twice in a row was not expected.

[startwin]

Robin
I really appreciate you taking the time to post these photos of when Christchurch was a beautiful city.
Thank you.
The aftershocks continue.

Jeanette, how far from the quake area are you? I've just been watching the news reports, this is devastating. And a timely wake-up call for Vancouverites as we have become so complacent waiting for "the big one".

I remember your reports of the after-shocks last September, and this is even worse. Stay safe.

[V and S]

We live very near ground zero of the 1989 Northern California quake. I've lived in CA all my life, and never, ever experienced anything like it. (And I used to think earthquakes were "fun".) Much of our town was completely destroyed, several people died, and watching the images tonight, I was just in tears for New Zealanders. It is just an unimaginable thing to go through, and it's impossible to understand unless you've been there, yourself. We all slept in tents in our front and backyards for a week because of the hundreds of aftershocks during the first few days. We cooked by camp stove, and shared food with people we'd never met, and with the National Guard. Today's quake sounds so much worse in terms of devastation.

It is so shocking to realize the earth doesn't know we're here. Our thoughts are with you.

[erewhon]

Jeanette, how far from the quake area are you? I've just been watching the news reports, this is devastating. And a timely wake-up call for Vancouverites as we have become so complacent waiting for "the big one".

I remember your reports of the after-shocks last September, and this is even worse. Stay safe.

Hi Ann,
Because the earthquake was so shallow, the quake was felt in most of the South Island.
There is a report that a 30 million tonne chunk of Ice 1.2 km long, 300m high broke off the Tasman Glacier 200 km away from the epicentre. The iceberg broke up in Tasman Lake forming several icebergs one is 250m long.
The aftershocks continue regularly.
Called in at a local supermarket this morning, it was very, very busy with customers, most of them from Christchurch. Waited 20 minutes at the milk refrigerator for new supplies to be unloaded.
Many Christchurch people are fleeing the city.
We feel very lucky that we personally have had no damage.

[General Max]

We were on the Volendam and in Christchurch the day before the earthquake hit. It was a warm sunny day there and we will remember the way Christchurch was before the quake.

[FLACRUISER99]

We were on the Volendam and in Christchurch the day before the earthquake hit. It was a warm sunny day there and we will remember the way Christchurch was before the quake.When you drag up old threads you shake the rest of us up.:mad: I thought it happened today until I looked.

[dobiemom]

When you drag up old threads you shake the rest of us up.:mad: I thought it happened today until I looked.
Me too! :eek: I wish Cruise Critic would list the date of the original post along with the OP's name. Maybe the next upgrade?

[erewhon]

What a surprise to see this thread appear again.
The after-shocks continue, there have been more than a thousand since the February quake.

[RuthC]

What a surprise to see this thread appear again.
The after-shocks continue, there have been more than a thousand since the February quake.
I was upset to see this thread title, but quickly realized it was about the earthquake that happened as I was on my way to New Zealand. I was glad to be able to read through it.

When I first arrived in Auckland at least one TV station was broadcasting earthquake info round-the-clock. The heartache came right through the screen and touched everyone watching, I am sure. Everyone I met knew someone effected by the quake.

I can only hope that the earth settles down, and that people there somehow find the strength to go on.

[Tamaracboy]

I was upset to see this thread title, but quickly realized it was about the earthquake that happened as I was on my way to New Zealand. I was glad to be able to read through it.

When I first arrived in Auckland at least one TV station was broadcasting earthquake info round-the-clock. The heartache came right through the screen and touched everyone watching, I am sure. Everyone I met knew someone effected by the quake.

I can only hope that the earth settles down, and that people there somehow find the strength to go on.

Ruth,

It was worth the revival of this thread (shocking though it was to see the title again) just to read your kind comments.

r.