Oh New Zealand ...

I'm not sure how much news coverage it is receiving in the Northern Hemisphere, but Christchurch, New Zealand's most picturesque major city, had a massive earthquake early today. The good news is that no one was killed by the quake, though there were two serious injuries and I read that one person died of a heart attack. But there is very serious damage to the city, looking at the photos I saw some of my favourite shopping blocks without front walls, which is terrible for the owners and those who enjoyed the community as it was.

Most of my friends in the city have checked in, so far a car and two chimneys and lots of small things broken for them, but insurance should cover it all. No power for most, and the water, which is some of the best tap water in the world -- that level of deliciousness you only get from filtering through stone for a few thousand years before pumping into the pipes, needs boiling before drinking. I think my flistees tend to be mostly North Island and Dunedin, but think there are a few ChCh folks out there, I hope you're well! 

It says something about how serious Kiwis are when they enforce building regulations on their tectonically exciting islands that a quake bigger than the one that hit Haiti could cause such comparatively minimal damage. But it's still quite a serious hit. And the economy over there has not been fabulous. I hope that the insurers and government are able to bring out the money that will be needed, at least builders and people who lay tarmac will do well out of it. And I feel sure that Australia will help, even if we have no proper government to be making offers to yours yet.

In other news, Reign of Fire is the best flu movie ever.

Oh New Zealand ...

I'm not sure how much news coverage it is receiving in the Northern Hemisphere, but Christchurch, New Zealand's most picturesque major city, had a massive earthquake early today. The good news is that no one was killed by the quake, though there were two serious injuries and I read that one person died of a heart attack. But there is very serious damage to the city, looking at the photos I saw some of my favourite shopping blocks without front walls, which is terrible for the owners and those who enjoyed the community as it was.

Most of my friends in the city have checked in, so far a car and two chimneys and lots of small things broken for them, but insurance should cover it all. No power for most, and the water, which is some of the best tap water in the world -- that level of deliciousness you only get from filtering through stone for a few thousand years before pumping into the pipes, needs boiling before drinking. I think my flistees tend to be mostly North Island and Dunedin, but think there are a few ChCh folks out there, I hope you're well! 

It says something about how serious Kiwis are when they enforce building regulations on their tectonically exciting islands that a quake bigger than the one that hit Haiti could cause such comparatively minimal damage. But it's still quite a serious hit. And the economy over there has not been fabulous. I hope that the insurers and government are able to bring out the money that will be needed, at least builders and people who lay tarmac will do well out of it. And I feel sure that Australia will help, even if we have no proper government to be making offers to yours yet.

In other news, Reign of Fire is the best flu movie ever.