Jumbled thoughts on the Christchurch Earthquake

Next week at work we are holding a fundraising week to raise money to be given to our Christchurch Offices, for them to distribute or use for their families and educators however they feel it is needed. Personally I don't generally give donations to charities or causes. Not because I don't want to but, more because I don't know where the money is actually going. But in this case we know exactly where it's going, it's a fathomable cause.

At each PlaySchool we'll have a special activity that our Families and Educators can participate in for a donation. We'll have a raffle going as well and we'll try to encourage as many people as possible to donate. We're also going to have lots of large paper and art supplies so kids and adults alike can contribute their thoughts and well wishers to their counterparts in Christchurch.

I don't know many people in Christchurch - just one old school friend and two people from the Christchurch office of my work. I used to go down their a couple of times in the school holidays to stay with my Aunt. But she moved back to Welly when I was a teenager. So I don't have an attachment or connection to Christchurch really. I do feel a little guilty that it's always been presumed that Welly would get the big earthquake (and it still will I assume) and not Christchurch - they didn't even know that faultline excisted!

Anyway. . . Hearing the stories about some of the Families and Educators and even the staff is emotional. Two staff and 13 Home Educators have to have their houses demolished. Can you imagine having your house demolished? I'd be gutted. Our coach is a Welly girl living in Chch. Her daughters are traumatised - won't be without each other, won't sleep at night, won't go down the end of the house where they were when it happened, getting angry quickly. It just goes on.

Here's a good site to check out http://www.geonet.org.nz/ Under the recent earthquake section it lists the date, time and magnitude of every earthquake around the country. It also has an article about how since 1970 Chch had had 3 moderate earthquakes (moderate being 5.0 or higher). Since Saturday they've had 26!

At http://www.stuff.co.nz/ is a interesting clip that has a speeding clock that goes from 4am on Saturday until the present time. It counts off the big quake and then all the aftershocks. It takes a good 10 minutes to go through the clock and you'll be shocked at how many aftershocks there are - easily 300 by now. And it could go on for weeks. How traumatising.

Meanwhile, who has their earthquake/emergency kit ready at home and work?! We do, but it needs a damn good overhall. At work we went out and bought a lot of stuff, which was hard because everywhere is selling out of things so fast. I've never seen so many people buying large bottles of water so quickly!