Shaken, not stirred
This morning in the car, on my way to get my haircut, I decided I would finally write about the earthquakes.
I've written about them before, but only in brief.
I then tried to figure out what made me change my mind; what made me want to write about it after not wanting to for so long.
And I decided that it must have come down to a conversation with Helen the other night.
I told her a little about everything that is still going on, our sticker system, our almost entirely inefficient and untrained earthquake commission.
When I drove through the tunnel this morning, like I do most mornings, I wondered what I would do if the tunnel collapsed. If the exit was suddenly barred. Would there be enough air to survive? Why aren't there oxygen canisters in there? (Although, our tunnel is carved into basalt, so we're told if the tunnel collapsed, it would have to be an incredibly big earthquake... Somehow that's not actually too comforting.)
When I got to Riccarton mall for my haircut today, I parked three blocks away from the mall, because I keep hearing rumours that it isn't safe. There was no way I was parking 4 storeys up in a building that has cracks through the entire stairwell.
When I got to work at Eastgate mall I forgot about earthquakes.
I was in a surprisingly good mood for someone who has to work the evening shift. I'd been at work for half an hour when the ground started shaking.
I've been in big eartquakes before. I was in the 7.1. I've been in numerous 5s, I don't know how many 6s. In fact, Christchurchians have been through thousands of earthquakes.
Today at work was the biggest earthquake I have felt in a while.
Something that people who aren't as well acquainted with earthquakes might not realise is that there a few different kinds of earthquakes.
There are the 'rolling' earthquakes. The ones that just come from behind you and roll out in front. These often come from out Darfield way. A few weeks ago I was at my bellydance teacher's house, and her husband told me how he had been out building somewhere near Motukarara. One day there was a large earthquake (I believe this was the June one) and they heard a roar. The roar approached them then sped off into the distance. One of his work colleagues turned around and said, "It sounds like a monster!".
Paige's husband said it was odd to hear something like that from a grown man, but it was true. It was the sound of the earthquake approaching them, rolling under them, and roaring towards Banks Peninsula and the city.
Then after the February earthquakes, we became more familiar with the 'violent' earthquakes. The ones that just jump up and down, cause a lot of rockfall around the hills, and generally just jolt you. These are generally the Lyttelton, or Banks Peninsula earthquakes. So because they are situated almost directly underneath me sometimes, they feel entirely different and very scary.
But today felt different. Today felt very much like a side to side motion.
At Te Papa (The museum of New Zealand in Wellington,) there is (and has been for a long time) a 'house' that you can go into and press a button to feel what it's like to be in an earthquake. I remember going into it when I was little, and not really thinking too much of it- I'd never felt an earthquake.
Then earlier this year I went to Wellington again, and my friend and I (who had both been in the September 4th 7.1 before moving away in February) tried the house out again.
To me, it didn't feel like an earthquake at all. The house just moved from side to side, not up or down, and didn't feel like it was bending or rolling. The house just sort of jerked from side to side while the ground lay flat.
You wouldn't believe how many people actually see the ground roll like it's liquid after an earthquake. When I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night in the 7.1, the ground literally came up to meet me and jolted my back out of alignment.
But today, even in a state of shock at the mall, the ground felt surprisingly stable.
It just went from side to side, side to side.
I got lower to the ground and widened my base of support, but I didn't fall. There was suddenly a whole lot of smashed glass beside us, and I remember someone screaming something about getting out, then Anna told me to grab my bag.
I sat down on the ground once I made it outside because I was very shaky. A lot of people didn't look too scared, and I can totally understand why. Before I moved, I'd become so desensitized to the earthquakes. My friend once said to me, "I won't get out of bed for less than a 5.5."
And it's true! That's how people get here.
I didn't feel upset so much as angry. I was very angry that this had happened again. A year and three months on, you don't expect to hear people yelling at you to move away from buildings again.
Especially two days before Christmas.
I've written about them before, but only in brief.
I then tried to figure out what made me change my mind; what made me want to write about it after not wanting to for so long.
And I decided that it must have come down to a conversation with Helen the other night.
I told her a little about everything that is still going on, our sticker system, our almost entirely inefficient and untrained earthquake commission.
When I drove through the tunnel this morning, like I do most mornings, I wondered what I would do if the tunnel collapsed. If the exit was suddenly barred. Would there be enough air to survive? Why aren't there oxygen canisters in there? (Although, our tunnel is carved into basalt, so we're told if the tunnel collapsed, it would have to be an incredibly big earthquake... Somehow that's not actually too comforting.)
When I got to Riccarton mall for my haircut today, I parked three blocks away from the mall, because I keep hearing rumours that it isn't safe. There was no way I was parking 4 storeys up in a building that has cracks through the entire stairwell.
When I got to work at Eastgate mall I forgot about earthquakes.
I was in a surprisingly good mood for someone who has to work the evening shift. I'd been at work for half an hour when the ground started shaking.
I've been in big eartquakes before. I was in the 7.1. I've been in numerous 5s, I don't know how many 6s. In fact, Christchurchians have been through thousands of earthquakes.
Today at work was the biggest earthquake I have felt in a while.
Something that people who aren't as well acquainted with earthquakes might not realise is that there a few different kinds of earthquakes.
There are the 'rolling' earthquakes. The ones that just come from behind you and roll out in front. These often come from out Darfield way. A few weeks ago I was at my bellydance teacher's house, and her husband told me how he had been out building somewhere near Motukarara. One day there was a large earthquake (I believe this was the June one) and they heard a roar. The roar approached them then sped off into the distance. One of his work colleagues turned around and said, "It sounds like a monster!".
Paige's husband said it was odd to hear something like that from a grown man, but it was true. It was the sound of the earthquake approaching them, rolling under them, and roaring towards Banks Peninsula and the city.
Then after the February earthquakes, we became more familiar with the 'violent' earthquakes. The ones that just jump up and down, cause a lot of rockfall around the hills, and generally just jolt you. These are generally the Lyttelton, or Banks Peninsula earthquakes. So because they are situated almost directly underneath me sometimes, they feel entirely different and very scary.
But today felt different. Today felt very much like a side to side motion.
At Te Papa (The museum of New Zealand in Wellington,) there is (and has been for a long time) a 'house' that you can go into and press a button to feel what it's like to be in an earthquake. I remember going into it when I was little, and not really thinking too much of it- I'd never felt an earthquake.
Then earlier this year I went to Wellington again, and my friend and I (who had both been in the September 4th 7.1 before moving away in February) tried the house out again.
To me, it didn't feel like an earthquake at all. The house just moved from side to side, not up or down, and didn't feel like it was bending or rolling. The house just sort of jerked from side to side while the ground lay flat.
You wouldn't believe how many people actually see the ground roll like it's liquid after an earthquake. When I jumped out of bed in the middle of the night in the 7.1, the ground literally came up to meet me and jolted my back out of alignment.
But today, even in a state of shock at the mall, the ground felt surprisingly stable.
It just went from side to side, side to side.
I got lower to the ground and widened my base of support, but I didn't fall. There was suddenly a whole lot of smashed glass beside us, and I remember someone screaming something about getting out, then Anna told me to grab my bag.
I sat down on the ground once I made it outside because I was very shaky. A lot of people didn't look too scared, and I can totally understand why. Before I moved, I'd become so desensitized to the earthquakes. My friend once said to me, "I won't get out of bed for less than a 5.5."
And it's true! That's how people get here.
I didn't feel upset so much as angry. I was very angry that this had happened again. A year and three months on, you don't expect to hear people yelling at you to move away from buildings again.
Especially two days before Christmas.
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