Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Never a Dull Moment

Last Tuesday morning started out like many others. It was a typical day and I had just a short swim to do at the pool - my final pool session before Ironman.

Irene, a colleague at work, was on her first day back after a 4 week break on annual leave. On welcoming her back I noted how relaxed and tanned she was looking - she had obviously had a great holiday. "Relaxed?", she said, "I'm so relaxed I'm almost comatose". With my typical touch of irony, and knowing how interesting the work environment can become, I couldn't help but remark, "we'll see how long that lasts!"

Little did I know how prophetic that remark would be as, less than 4 hours later, Christchurch would be struck by an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude, destroying any chance of anyone maintaining any sense of calm.

I was swimming at the pool when, without warning, I heard a rumble underwater and the water turned into a swell around me. Immediately I stood up and here was the 50m pool rocking around,throwing water over its edges while I and the other swimmers tried to maintain our balance. I had only one thought and that was whether the pool was going to stay in one piece or would it start breaking up around me.

Thankfully it held and the shaking stopped. At that point I had no idea of the earthquake's severity but the pool complex had lost power and so the lifeguards immediately ordered us out of the pool and out of the complex. We had time only to pick up our bags and then head out. Shaken up, in wet togs, and drizzly weather, I ended up on the scooter, raincoat on over a towel wrapped around my waist. In any other circumstances it would have looked pretty funny.

Things didn't seem too serious at that point though. Aftershocks had caused the pool to be closed down on a number of occasions over the past few months and we had no reason to believe this was any different. As I rode home, though, a few hints of what had happened became apparent.

There was a crack on a corner of the road. Water had started coming up out of some of the drains. A couple of brick fences had fallen over, although I couldn't be positive that they hadn't fallen over earlier. As I got closer to home, riding around Hagley Park, the traffic had started getting heavier and was almost gridlocked.

Finally, as I rode past Riccarton Road, I glanced up the road and saw a pile of bricks across the road from a fallen building and an ambulance parked, lights flashing. I wasn't to know at the time but the building had collapsed and completely crushed a car and its trailer, killing the driver.

I got home and was met by a neighbor who quickly informed me that "this was bigger than September". It was with some trepidation, then, that I went inside.

Thankfully, things weren't as bad as I was expecting. There was a fair bit of stuff that had fallen on the floor but amazingly enough no breakages. Over the coming day, however, we were to find that this earthquake would make the September earthquake seem like a minor tremor.

As I write this, a week later, 147 are confirmed dead and 200 are still listed as missing. Most of the city's iconic heritage stone and brick buildings have been reduced to rubble. A number of hill suburbs have been evacuated due to slips or the risk of slips. Eastern suburbs that got hit by liquefaction in the September earthquake have been hit again, and more severely. Many of the city's sports facilities have suffered major damage. Roads and underground services have been severely damaged. A third of the buildings in the CBD have been red stickered meaning they are unsafe and must be demolished. Two supermarkets have confirmed that the damage is such that they won't be reopening, meaning the loss of 240 jobs.

Out of such adversity, however, we have also seen the most incredible display of human courage, spirit and kindness. The community has pulled together to shovel silt, provide shelter for those made homeless, and ensure everyone is fed, watered and listened to. The wider community have come to the city's aid and that wider community extends globally. This tragic disaster has touched the world and while it is going to take Christchurch a long time to recover, it will pull through and I have no doubt will be stronger for it.

So where does that leave me with ironman? I'll update you with that on my next blog.

Kia kaha Christchurch.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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