A video testimonial of the destruction to Christchurch City Center caused by the February 22 quake

This past Friday was declared a holiday in memorial of those who lost their lives in the Christchurch 22 Feb quake. I wanted to share the link to some video footage that was prepared for the memorial service held that day. It gives probably the clearest sense of the magnitude of the destruction this quake wrought on the City Center.

Hail Mary Pass

Chip and I have been searching for a house far from the quake effected area. Our real estate agent has been very helpful and even worked with us through the Friday Christchurch Memorial holiday with her two young children in tow. We sat in Internet cafes sorting through listings as she made calls that repeatedly rendered "sold," "under offer with 2 back up offers," until we found one that was available. Then we dashed out to view if possible.

Because of the shortage, there is a housing bubble here that artificially inflated their value. The situation is ripe for people to take advantage of those less fortunate. Asking prices are now anywhere from 5 to 20% higher than their assessed value, which causes problems with acquiring a mortgage. Those who are well off plucked up homes for profit or to lease at high rents. One month post-earthquake, there are many homeless who still reside in tents.

Yesterday Chip and I threw a Hail Mary pass; we gambled on a long shot. One remaining home was at a stalemate between owner and potential buyer. The clock was ticking for that buyer to raise or decline. We had one shot to blindly out bid. We met our real estate agent in the kids' section of McDonald's so her children could bounce wildly with other kids in the play area while we went over the paperwork. Among the kiddie yelling, skinned knees, little elbows covered with special sauce and ketchup fingers we signed the paperwork and made an offer. We left hoping to get a call with good news.

It was tense, unsure if the owner would accept, or the first buyer would blindly out bid us. The price was already above the current value. Thirty minutes beyond the deadline we received the call that the buyer accepted our offer. Astonishingly, only moments after the owners accepted, the first buyer called and did out bid us, however the contract was signed. We gambled and won.

We struggle with guilt not knowing if we nabbed the house from another homeless family or from another despicable miser. We may never know. For the next 3 weeks solicitor, assessor, engineer, realtor and whomever else will do their dance. We are scheduled to move in on 8 April if everything goes well. Given all the earthquake requirements, it cannot happen more rapidly.

It is an okay house to live in through the winter while we sort out the insurance with what remains of our previous home in Mount Pleasant. Meanwhile, our stress levels have come down a wee bit.

Chip Contemplates an Oozy

They turned the water on in Mount Pleasant. Someone must have seen the water coming out of the boarded up windows of what is left of our house. The ceiling and walls caved in and the place is flooded. There are no homes left to buy or rent. Chip contemplated going postal but settled with joining me in a drunken stupor. Hahaha ahahah ahh ahaha ahahh aha aaah a ha ha ha ha ha ha. ...... to the funny farm. Ha hhahahah ahahahha ha ha ha ...

Sort Yourself Before the End

All those affected by the earthquake here received an email request to sort your rubble into three categories and bring it to the local refuse station for assessment of reuse. The discounted rate of $25 per ton still stands. Yup. Loose your home, sort your rubble, cart it away (some how) and pay to have it recycled. Hmmm. Our street is blocked off with bright orange cones as closed, we have bright red "Live Wire" warnings on the mailbox, and our home is "red tagged" as dangerous. Yet the mail still comes (despite redirecting it). Everyone has gone to that "crazy place." And if that is not enough, we have Moon Man. Moon Man is an amateur someone who believes that on 20 March, the next full moon, Christchurch will sustain another massive earthquake that will be far much more devastating than the all the subsequent quakes. Moon Man has been on radio and TV and there are those who believe him and those who do not. Equally absurd is the "Non Event Group" who insist on having high tea in one of the damaged heritage buildings during the height of Moon Man's prediction period to prove him wrong. This sort of entertainment we could do without. Ugh.

Frayed Nerves

We're hanging in there, but nerves are frayed. We returned to our home a few times to inspect the damage and leave food for Tia, our other cat. She's alive, but we haven't been able to capture her. There are orange cones blocking the road to our house, and a large "road closed" sign. Depending on who you talk to, you can walk by them or you better not go through. It's very chaotic.

We managed to get an engineer to the house. The frame of the house is standing and held up fairly well. One structure pile is bent and a beam cracked. The entire house has shifted downward on the east side and the ground is moving down into our neighbor's yard below. All the fences are warped, the patio pavers are all separated and moving down hill.

There's no water, electricity or plumbing and mold is growing on the food that was thrown everywhere. Everything from our refrigerator and pantry was broken on the floor. A large bottle of cooking oil made cleaning up glass shards more challenging. I tried to clean what I could without water. Whatever was in the sink is stinky and growing.

Our insurance company managed to get someone to board up the broken windows. All the walls have caved in or have dangling wall boards. Light fixtures are hanging or crashed to the floor. The stairways shifted away from the walls and the back one was just hanging from the deck. There are huge fissures in the driveway and around the house. The retaining wall fell down and a large pile of rocks and dirt tumbled down the hill.

The geologist said the house above us and the house above that one are both in danger of falling down the hillside and could tumble onto our house. The upcoming rainy season could cause mud slides, another danger. There is a massive poplar tree that is dying rapidly and looming over our home. The roots are disturbed or infected by liquefaction. In some respects, we wish it would just fall and end it, as we are in limbo right now. The house maybe, possibly could be rebuilt, but the land is unsafe. Then again, that might be different depending on who you talk to. Maybe 10,000 homes destroyed, maybe not. Estimates now are 30 billion dollars of damage.

We re-directed our mail to a post office box and received an acknowledgement of the change. Yet mail still arrived in the mailbox, at the condemned house, on the street that no one is supposed to go up. Each day we make calls and are redirected to other phone numbers, often which are out of order. Go figure. Everyone has a form. Fill out the form.

We are trying to get another mortgage for a small house that we could live in for a while and rent later or sell. There is a "stand down" period for everyone, for a few weeks (who knows how long) to get house insurance. Rental fees are skyrocketing even though they are not supposed to, and rental agents are charging hundreds of dollars in "filing fees."

Gizmo, Yoda, Obi and Tangi, our 4 cats in the cattery are doing okay. Better than we are doing anyway. Some days we think we should just rent a stall there. How difficult could it be to poop in a litter box. The cost is right and there is no filing fee.

Many still live in tents at the AMI stadium. It is humorous to me that some people continue to push for the Rugby World Cup to be held in Christchurch as scheduled this September. The stadium is a tent city for the homeless, and there are no hotels standing. None. But rugby is very important here.

Christchurch boasted some beautiful architecture, especially for the churches. They are gone. The Star newspaper has photos: http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/earthquake-photos/gallery/churches-damaged-by-earthquake/279/#195548

This website shows the impact of the earthquake. You can watch the impact as the clock ticks to 12:51 http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/

Thank you to everyone who want to send things or help in some way. Right now, just your thoughts and good vibes are most appreciated.

We will get through this, frayed nerves and all.

Buy or Rent or Leave?

Well, Chip and I are doing our best to pick up the pieces (literally) and carry on. There have been a few more significant quakes in our area that we felt way out in Selwyn County. We found a meager rental today that listed a viewing between 12:00 and 12:15. Sixty people stood in the rain there in the driveway waiting, and more were pulling up. "Filing fees" for processing are going up as rentals are sky rocketing. Should we try to rent? Should we try to buy something else? Can we get another mortgage? We're 323 on the list for engineer inspection for our former home in Mount Pleasant. We can't get the insurance settled until EQC (earth quake commission) assesses the damage. We're 3-5 months away from an EQC inspection. Nearly 100,000 people have left Christchurch now. According to the news, there are no hotels or rentals available in surrounding suburbs in the South Island. We are dizzy with paperwork and phone calls, and we are emotionally drained.

One Week Later

At 12:51, one week after the earthquake there was a touching ceremony at the site where the cathedral stood. Two minutes of silence was experienced by everyone. Even traffic stopped. I cried. There are 163 confirmed dead, several still missing; 4500 out of 5000 employees in the central business district are unemployed. Sixty percent of buildings in the central business district will need to be rebuilt. The estimated cost of both earthquakes is now 20 billion dollars. The massive piles of liquifaction line the streets, and the high winds are kicking up dust. Many wear masks as it is deemed unhealthy.

The NZ Herald has a collection of photos. Here is one link: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/image.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1&gallery_id=117078#7408085

Chip and I are lucky to have wonderful friends, Pen and Murray who are housing us. We both still have our jobs. Murray lost a cousin in the earthquake and his employment was demolished. We are dizzy with forms to fill out for the Earthquake Commission and Insurance, and we are not sure where we will live.

One day at a time.