EARTHQUAKES!!!

I have now felt my very first earthquake!  And, I can now add an earthquake to the list of things I've slept through!

Exactly 24 hours ago, at 1:34am Sunday morning local time, a 4.7-magnitude earthquake shook Christchurch.  My hotel building (one of the tallest buildings in Christchurch) swayed quite a bit, according to a couple I met who were staying a floor above me.  They said it was very scary.  Swaying is a natural response of the building, intentionally designed into the architecture, and the building was and remains structurally sound.  However, I felt nothing!  I slept right through it!  The couple was shocked that I was shocked that there was an earthquake in the night!

And then this evening, a 4.7-magnitude earthquake set on!  I was at dinner, and I felt it!  It was so cool!  I was really bummed that I slept through the one last night, especially since I didn't get to feel the building sway, but I can now say that I have experienced an earthquake!

Now, earthquakes are a serious thing, and Christchurch and areas in this region are still working to rebuild the damage from the September 4, 2010 earthquake here.  It was a 7.1-magnitude earthquake--just slightly stronger than the one that devastated Haiti and killed hundreds of thousands of people 10 months ago.  Fortunately for New Zealand, no deaths occurred as a result of the quake, and most buildings survived, but some buildings and homes have had to be condemned.

Brett
2010-11-15 1:47am (NZDT)