New Zealand's darkest hour after devastating quake

R

ESIDENTS in Christchurch and across New Zealand are attempting to pick up the pieces after Tuesday’s devastating earthquake which has left over 100 people dead.    

The tremor lasted for about 30 seconds and hit Christchurch at its busiest time, the lunch hour where many commuters meet for coffee and a catch-up.  Therefore, this earthquake had the maximum possible devastation attributed.  It measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, far less than the 7.1 aftershock felt in the same city last September.  Then, extensive damage was caused to buildings but no-one was killed and the injuries were relatively minor.  This time, Christchurch wasn’t so lucky. 

AFTERMATH: Many buildings felt the full force of the quake

Some buildings came down straightaway, after fell more gradually.  In suburbs, burst water pipes have led to flooding and landslides.  Hills have been cut in half, some other structures looking totally unrecognisable to what they had earlier in the day.  The city looks like a warzone, echoing what happened to the residents of Kobe, Japan after their devastating quake in January 1995.  As hope fades very quickly for anymore survivors, this is another example of the unexpected force of Mother Nature.

In Christchurch, there weren’t enough ambulances to get all the trapped survivors out of the squashed buildings and with hospitals all full-up, space for the critically injured found hours after the tremor became very limited.  The frequent aftershocks stunned survivors and badly hampered the attempt to rescue those buried underneath tonnes of rubble.  The country’s prime minister John Key has vowed to rebuild the town and after announcing a state of emergency throughout the country, will not bow down to the challenges ahead; “We are a resilient nation, we will not bow down to this challenge.”  The Queen has passed on her thoughts and is said to be ‘utterly shocked by the events in New Zealand.

GRIM: It is a tough job to find survivors for the rescuers

Three days on from the quake and many residents are still trying to deal with the aftermath.  At current, 113 people are officially dead, with two British tourists amongst them.  There are still 200 people unaccounted for.  Half of Christchurch still has no water supplies and around 25% of the devastated city still has no electricity.  Due to the powercuts, many supermarkets remain closed which is making food supplies very limited for some.  Petrol stations have also been badly hit, with some running out of fuel, as desperate survivors top-up.  The estimated damage from the quake is likely to break the billions of dollars category.  Structural damage to a lot of properties means that many hundreds of people remain homeless and are staying in emergency rescue centres. 

With the death toll likely to rise and many more residents still unaccounted for, this is undoubtedly New Zealand’s darkest hour.  Life in Christchurch has changed forever.

 

British nationals concerned about relatives or friends affected by the quake can contact 020 7008 8765.

New Zealand in mourning after Pike River tragedy

TWENTY-NINE miners are suspected to have been killed by a second explosion in a coal mine in New Zealand.

TRAGIC: NZ flags fly at half-mast

The miners had been missing since they got trapped by a first collapse last Friday on the Pike River mine in Greymouth.  On Tuesday night, another explosion put paid to another possibility of another mining miracle, after the epic rescue of the Chilean miners last month.  After five days of no contact, the outcome of this did seem to be inevitable.  However, this won’t change the pain that all the families of the dead must be feeling.

All are grieving, but are also feeling frustrated and angry with the final outcome, feeling that the authorities in New Zealand haven’t done enough to help their trapped loved ones.  Now, the authorities have to deal with the finger pointing from these families, who feel that the rescue operation was far too slow in operation.  CCTV footage was shown on Monday of the first blast, which left the miners at least a mile and a half underground.  The potential of another blast, coupled with the fear of poisonous gases in the mine have prevented rescuers from going into the risk zone.  A day before the fatal second explosion, progress seemed to being made, with a hole being drilled to where the workers were believed to being working.  However, the families feel that these reasons were a 100% cover-up.  One resident in the Greymouth area, where this tragedy happened said that this was “The darkest hour ever, it doesn’t get much worse than this.”

The age range of the trapped miners ranged from 17 to 62.  They included two Britons, both from Scotland.  One of the Britons, Malcolm Campbell was due to get married to a local girl next month.

Infront of a worldwide media gathering, a sombre New Zealand prime minister John Key summed up the general feeling of remorse and overwhelming sense of tragedy;

“This is a national tragedy.  It is a tragedy for the men’s families, for their workmates and friends, for their community and for our nation.”

The Queen has sent her condolences in a message to Key, saying that “I am deeply saddened by today’s news and my heart goes out to all the families and friends of these brave 29 miners.”  It is still not known what triggered the second blast, but it is believed that the dangerous toxic gases have now cleared, so rescuers can start entering to find the bodies.