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Christchurch earthquake updates

I have spent some time wrestling with my original Christchurch earthquake post (and sought help). It appears, from my playing around, that possibly a WordPress blog post may have a limited length after which it starts to misbehave. Badly. (Does anyone know anything about this?)

Anyway – so I have decided to move more recent updates to this post.

Monday October 4 update

There have been 1460 quakes now.
The last two were eight minutes apart at a strength of 5 then of 4.
I am moved that Tonga, one of our poorest neighbours, raised NZ$705,000 to give to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Fund. If Kiwis gave at a similar rate the Earthquake Fund would get NZ$31 million!

Sunday September 26 update

Methodist Church Merivale - photo: Bosco Peters
Methodist Church Merivale - photo: B.Peters

Bishop Victoria Matthews launches $100,000 earthquake appeal to give from the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch to Haiti
Another awesome quake resource – just click on the particular quake and it brings up a map. One of the recent ones was three blocks away!
1069 quakes so far in total.

Friday September 24 update

Yesterday driving through Riccarton, having become used to the piles of bricks in the centre of town, sad to see the same in Riccarton. Then through Sydenham where Colombo Street has become one way with the road a zig-zag of high fences on both sides to prevent access to blocks of buildings.
Christian Habitat for Humanity plans to help rebuild uninsured homes – estimated 5,000 uninsured homes are damaged.
797 quakes including four in the night, one of 4.6 only 9km deep.

Wednesday September 22 update

The status of the brick convent building of the Community of the Sacred Name is being reconsidered.
750 quakes.
The vicar has moved out of the Ellesmere Vicarage, my home when I was Vicar of Ellesmere, my previous position.
An extra priest has been appointed temporarily to assist in quake-affected Kaiapoi.
A new temporary diocesan position has been created to help with earthquake damage; the Ven Lawrence Kimberley will do this half time.

Tuesday September 21 update

Christchurch Anglican Cathedral will reopen tomorrow.
Total of 739 quakes so far; 8 in the last 24 hours.

Saturday September 18 update

Two weeks since the initial quake.
A total of 699 quakes so far.
Today it looks as though the Catholic Cathedral may be closed for a year for earthquake strengthening.
The congregation of the Anglican Cathedral will tomorrow meet at Christ’s College where I am chaplain.
Still no message from the Pope or the Archbishop of Canterbury – they are together today and could save postage by sending a joint message! No mention on the official Anglican news.

Wednesday September 15 update

State of Emergency has not been lifted. 608 quakes so far. 21 in the last 24 hours. Quake is NZ’s most costly natural disaster (video). Parliament rushes through quake law.

Tuesday September 14 update

562 quakes so far. 33 in the last 24 hours. Still no message from either the Pope or the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Monday September 13 update

Sr Sandra CSN outside condemned convent buildings
Sr Sandra CSN outside condemned convent buildings

The historic brick convent building of the Community of the Sacred Name is to be demolished. Auckland, Waiapu, and Wellington have launched Bishops’ appeals.

There have been 6 quakes in the last 12 hours with a total of 492 quakes so far.

Most schools are back today – some, of course, cannot reopen.

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10 thoughts on “Christchurch earthquake updates”

    1. Thanks Josh! 🙂
      & thanks Chris – the issue wasn’t that it was slow – the issue was that the whole post just ceased to show at all! Merely the tags & title – it took a lot of work for me to get it all sorted, as I could not work out what was going on. I will look into your super cache plugin and use it.

  1. Well, we’re not going to forget about you on dailyoffice.org, even if the pope and the ABC can’t be bothered. You remain in our prayers as the nation and the Church continue to recover.

  2. I wonder if there was a WP issue – I was “suspended” but we couldn’t not think of any serious violation to precipitate it. Only fix was to reload.

    Thanks for Lego Izzard – good to laugh out loud no matter how many times I’ve heard it.

    How can we help the Sisters at The Community? (Childhood memories in the wafer room, the chapel and the garden.)

    1. I have spoken to a sister, Bindy, and there appear to be two opinions about the brick building – so I cannot comment on the current position/decisions. I’m sure dropping them a card or a phone call is one option.

  3. As one who grew up in Southern California and lived through several large earthquakes, yet spared of any direct, personal losses, and as one who has served in Haiti since the January 12th earthquake, I am deeply inspired and moved by the response of the Bishop of Christchurch, despite the anxiety and fear of continued aftershocks, the disruption, heartache and cost of all the loss of structures, needed and beloved, that as an expression of thanks and praise for the relative sparing of your beautiful region, with the protection of life and limb, and set out an appeal for the relief of Haiti in its grief, woundedness, poverty and need. How magnanimous, how perspicacious, how charitable, how, well, Christian.

  4. Mark Aitchison

    Great to see the liturgy website back again after the Feb 22 earthquake! So much has happened! Those Japanese USAR people leaving Christchurch to return to Japan.

  5. Mark Aitchison

    (I realise my last post didn’t make a lot of sense, finishing abruptly as it did. I am so exhausted after this latest quake, yet my immediate family and my house got off lightly). Not sure how to edit posts still in the queue, or even if I can. What I meant to say was…

    Great to see the liturgy website back again after the Feb 22 earthquake! So much has happened! Of them all, for some reason the most haunting for me was those Japanese USAR people leaving Christchurch to return to Japan. They were tired after Christchurch, they must have felt so many things, knowing that the were returning to their country in a time of even greater disaster. Yet their leader showed such consideration for the city he was leaving.

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