How is Chch coping post 22 Feb?

As I am writing this, Japan has just had a 8.8 magnitude earthquake off its coast. What is the world coming to? I can't imagine what it is like to have 4 MILLION people without power. Only a few people have been reported killed but I suspect it will reach hundreds if not more. Horrible..

It has been almost three weeks since the 22 February earth quake in Christchurch. The first week involved responding to the disaster: cleaning, treating water, accessing more water, finding showers and washing machines, finding shops that are open, an finding safe ways to poo. Very basic demands took over our life.

My brain was not operating very well and I found that I started 100 different things and I didn't manage to complete one of them. My thoughts were skipping and Charlie and I ran around like headless chickens for 2-3 days. In reality, I think we were coping well. Many people simply escaped Chch and I don't blame them if they have bad nerves or had kids for example.

When we finally got too much cabin fever, we jumped on our bikes to check out how the hillside suburbs of Christchurch had been coping...a bit of rubbernecking.

Widespread liquefaction on Ferry Road. It only took the council about a week before they removed the worst big bumps and smoothed out the road. Considering this is not the only EQ hit road, I think that was commendable.

No more BBQs for sale any more along Ferrymead Rd Giant holes and crack by the causeway into Redcliffs:
The luxury houses on top of Clifton Terrace didn't seem that attractive all of a sudden.
Shag rock BEFORE EQ and AFTER..now called Shag Pile:
Redcliffs's own sand castle house was getting intimate with a giant boulder.
Rock falls from Cliffton Tce.
This RSA building in Sumner was crushed with one person killed inside by the massive rock. It was very tragic and I almost feel bad taking/showing the photo.
It has been a very sad couple of weeks. I feel like I am often close to tears. Meeting friends and getting to know neighbours have been a very important aspect of getting through and processing what had happened.

When power was out, we all were in a mad rush to consume all the food from the freezer. Over a few nights in a row we consumed a disproportionate amount of meat. I hate throwing out food, so we had to do it. Charlie and I often went over to Neil and Ruth's place, which got power much faster than the rest of us. They had Ric and Jo and Mark and Anna staying with them since these poor buggers had lost some of the essential walls, misc pillars and the three services. It made the hot tub very cramped when the power was back: Water took almost two weeks to come back to Mt Pleasant. Meanwhile, we used the "Artisian well" in Opawa, which had been discovered by a man a few years ago in his back yard. He had now led the water through this rigged up piping system. We could access the water at a number of points along the pipe. It was brilliant! Unfortunately we still have to boil all water in Chch as the wastewater treatment plant is only receiving 20-30 % of its usual quantities, i.e. the majority of the pees and poos ends up in our rivers.
To prevent even more wastewater reaching our water ways, we were first encouraged to dig our own back yard loos. People have tried to show off the best toilets. I think Ruth and Neil had a pretty nice one with a sun shade, water protection for the loo paper and a screen to stop fans taking photos:
The Chch CBD was badly damaged and was cordoned off on the 22 Feb while the searching for bodies was undertaken. The majority of the city's accommodation is therefore not accessible and there is a massive need for beds. My company is working closely with Vero Insurance and a construction company to handle damage claims on residential and commercial buildings. When I returned to work, I was met by this view: Vero had secured 20 campervans for their staff to stay. Many of them didn't have any clothes since these were at their hotels within the areas closed off to the public. On the night of the 22 of February we decided to stay in our van, away from the house with dodgy walls and roofs. The van proved to be a sacred haven where we ended up sleeping another 9 nights.The van was excellent at cushioning the aftershocks and I only woke up once (only the first night after a significant aftershock. Both of us slept like logs ever after. People offered us a bed to stay and felt sorry for us, but we preferred the comfort and holiday feel of the van. Sleep deprivation was taking its toll on many people after a week. A solid sleep was so price less. Time to go to bed now..in the real bed. I hope everyone is safe out there (Japan, PNG, Taiwan, Hawaii...)