Christchurch New Zealand Earthquake

My fondest wishes and prayers go out to all in Christchurch New Zealand.

To all our friends "across the ditch" in NZ, our wishes of safety and wellbeing go to every one of you.

Australia is thinking of you in this time of need. If there is any way that we can help, don't be afraid to ask. That's what friends do.

My thoughts and best wishes go out to those in this disaster.

My hopes would be that all are safe but I know based on news reports that this is not the case therefore, my hopes are those that are injured receive swift medical care and heal quickly, those that have died did not suffer and the families of lost loved ones find comfort in each other and their fellow countrymen.

My personal best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I will ask my religious friends to say a prayer for them.

It's unfortunate and we should all be thankful that the rest of us are healthy.

My sincere hope is that the missing will be located soon and in good health.

Lets all hope that the building construction methods there will allow survivable areas that will allow safety until search teams can get to them.

I will pray.

Indeed, I have relatives there...
Del

Hope all our friends and theirs are safe, and that as few people are harmed as possible.

(Maybe not the place to bring it up - but I extend the same feelings to those in Libya).

I saw it on TV last night, very sad to see. NZ is a beautiful place, and I have friends and family there as well, though not (I hope!) in Christchurch at this time. Hope our CR4 New Zealanders are okay, and those affected pull through without further quakes or disruptions.

A couple have asked what might be the best up to date newsfeeds - these are pretty good

Bob

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

http://www.goandroam.com/webcams/new_zealand/christchurch/

Indeed. Our prayers and thoughts are with the people of New Zealand. May they be blessed with a rapid recovery, and we pass along our sympathy to the families of those lost in the tragedy. May they find comfort and peace in the days ahead.

Thanks for posting PWSlack we felt the quake down here in Dunedin and it was a powerful shunt even here. Christchurch is a mess, I've had word from some of my friends who live there but sadly not all. All fingers and toes are crossed at this stage.

Thank you for the swift help sent from Aussie and USA and other countries.

www.stuff.co.nz and www.odt.co.nz

My good wishes for all people there and CR4 members on behalf of all CR 4 members from India.

Anybody for CR 4 memberes from Newzealand... can we help in anyway? We will be happy send our bit of help

Thanks guys, it is a bit of a mess down here and is one of the biggest natural disasters to hit NZ (the second after the Hawks bay earthquake of 1931, and the third if you count the eruption of mount Taupo - now lake Taupo around 1,800 years ago). Ever. It has just been declared a national disaster. I am currently commissioning a wind farm south of Christchurch, but I could just have just as easily been in Christchurch.

How to best sum it up.....

Well there was a quote on the New Zealand radio today that sums it up nicely

"When a large (and rare) earthquake hit Christchurch last September people were worrying about how much damage was done to their homes, this time people are worrying about the survival of friends and loved ones in Christchurch." How bad, well the shallow (occurring 5Km below the Christchurch area) earthquake moved one building 20 feet on its foundation. For a visual representation, passengers on a plane landing in Christchurch during the earthquake say they saw the ground ripple like a stone thrown in a pond.

On behalf of New Zealand, thanks for the support (I personally got an email from a company VP in Israel, what a small world we live in). We will survive, but it really sucks when Christchurch hadn't recovered from the last (rare) earthquake last September. It looks like a lot of historic buildings did not survive either.

Like many countries in seismically-active zones we expect a quake like this in New Zealand every 100-250 years or so, but it is still quite a shock when it actually happens, and to have TWO of them in such a short period of time.

<insert slightly shaken but optimistic emoticon here>

All best wishes to all affected - keep hopes and spirits up;sometimes miracles do happen and people survive for longer than may be thought possible.

Heartfelt sympathies to those who have lost loved ones.

I hope the rest of the family of the baby found alive because its mother curled herself around it to protect it will tell of her love.

I'd like to express my sympathy too. In my country earthquakes are a very usual phenomenon. I have experienced some very intense earthquakes. So I know what it means. You really feel so helpless during such event and so "small" in front of this violent expression of nature. I hope that people in New Zealand will recover soon from this tragic event.

Very sorry to hear about massive earthquake in N.Z. Our all sympathies with people who have lost their lives and those who have been injured and become homeless. Hope everything will become normal soon. My neighbours have migrated to N.Z hope they are safe. GOD BLESS ALL NEWZEALANDERS AND GIVE THEM COURAGE TO FACE SUCH NATURAL CALAMITY.

It is very sad that lives can be lost so quickly when nature violently erupts with little or no warning. Our friends and Allies who live under the Southern Cross have suffered considerably with this and the floods that ravaged Australia just a month or so ago.

When you realize that we are sitting on a frozen crust of matter surrounding a molten core of lava and metal mixture we shouldn't be all that surprised when eruptions or severe vibrations occur from shifting tectonic plates but that doesn't make it any easier for all those who suffer through it or lose loved ones.

As a young man I once thought of emigrating to Australia after my second trip down under. Back in the 60's there were areas that were similar to what the "wild west" in the USA once was or at least what I imagined it had been. That's partly why I feel I still would like to go back at least one more time and this time also see New Zealand and Tasmania.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those afflicted by these disasters down under and to all others who have had to suffer through what has been one screwed up weather wise past year in so many of the areas of the world. It seems that there has just been one natural disaster after another throughout the world. It does make you wonder if the Mayan Calendar and the 2012 End of Times scenario has some substance or is it just coincidence in its timing.