The Triple Two (Feb 22nd)

Six of us had just finished lunch when there was the now familiar rumble like a huge subway coming closer…but it got louder and a sudden jolt was followed by violent shaking. I opened a nearby door and most of us scrambled under the table and waited. When things calmed we all rushed for the door to get outside, where we stood marvelling at the loud rumble which echoed around the hills and faded in the direction of Lyttelton. That was no aftershock.That was what we all thought wouldn’t happen: another big earthquake. But the house stood intact and everyone was safe.

 I turned on the battery radio and we found that Christchurch was more badly hit than we were. Although we had no power and the phone was intermittent, we did have water (we have our own springs) and sewerage. Then the news of crushed cars and buses…people falling from the viewing tower of the Cathedral….the tragedy continued to unfold.

There were miracles. Our friend was on the 5th floor of the CTV building which had many fatalities. The floor gave way and she dropped down to the ground floor, but walked out with only a small injury on her knee.

My Japanese guest could not go back inside the house with the frequent aftershocks, so we pitched tents on the lawn and I slept there with her. I texted locals as much as possible and contacted Lyttelton Timebank to let them know we had accommodation if needed. They sent four people: one from Christchurch, stranded, and three elderly ladies from Lyttelton with damaged houses.

Through the following days we helped our refugees clean up their houses and have them made liveable again, took water and helped where we could. Most people were camping in their houses and gardens, with no power, phone, water or sewerage. This was tough on the elderly.

And so the slow revival of our “new normal” daily life routine started.