I've texted. We can only wait.

There are reports on Twitter of the Cathedral being down.

# Reference Number: 3468575
# NZDT: Tue, Feb 22 2011 12:51 pm
# Magnitude: 6.3
# Depth: 5 km
# Details: 10 km south-east of Christchurch

and that was just the first one...

Edit: looks too small. TV3 has a pic here which looks (slightly) healthier

I know this sounds really self-absorbed, but I'm trying really hard to stay off the phone and CTFD. People will check in when they can, and having a melt down at the other end of the country does nothing?

I can't figure out where that is. Manchester St?

Hope everything is fine at Haywood-upon-Avon. And hoping to hear similar news from other friends.

I really hope everyone is ok :-(

To say the least.

Sumner

I particularly love the ambitious sweeping as it goes

The airport is closed, right?

Same – and knowing this time there are people under all that rubble. Have to be. Upsetting

And that video in Sumner is terrifying.

That's why I've just turned off the radio and television. This time, I just can't see how there won't be, at the very best, serious injuries. Until everyone checks in, I'll just lose?

Anna and I are safely home from uni where she was at creche. @knedd is walking through Riccarton – we expect to see him in an hour.

Police Website.
http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/27193.html
Multiple fatalities reported.

They've announced that they've stopped that.

TVNZ running ads with coverage. Classy.

They've announced that they've stopped that.

Talk about snuff television.

(Also for the record – that was me posting as Richard earlier – using a borrowed computer).

It is great to be hearing from those in Christchurch?

Indeed. One of the risks with Twitter in particular is that unsubstantiated info like this spreads like wildfire.

In other words: Think before you RT.

At KiwiCon (hacker conference) in 2009, one of the presentations was on how to "hack" WikiPedia by getting the reputable media to put into print a false rumour started through Twitter. Attendees managed?

I feel like I could just zap the people who are overusing the #eqnz tag. Shut the fuck up if you have nothing meaningful to say. But that may well be the stress of waiting for friends to get in touch talking.

Yes, it may not be the right time. And besides, where is it good in Aotearoa?

Sally, thank you for that update – to think of the house destroyed is awful enough, but could have been so much worse.

The poor littlies, and their parents too :-(

Radio New Zealand saying repeatedly that it isn't.

Gah. ABC news in aus if you really want.

I'd be inclined to believe the NZ Police over the both of them. TV3 are proving why the media are thought of so poorly.

Yes, me too, just making the point for (hopefully) clarity's sake.

OK, perhaps I?m being really touchy ??

There's nothing most of us can do – so yes, you can question the?

I suspect one of the important stories to emerge over the next few days will be the extremely poor communications between the Beehive and Chch (reported about half an hour ago by Radio NZ's Jane Patterson). The Emergency Cabinet meeting was apparently relying heavily on TVNZ/TV3 coverage for?

Indeed.

Listening in from Sydney, I can only offer my thoughts to all directly affected. Reading here I'm relieved to learn most PAS regulars are safe, though the Haywood's house collapse is terrible, and I've?

I don't sadly Giovanni, I was reading here hoping to learn how badly the university was affected. I'll certainly post anything I hear.

I have no idea what happens now, I'm just glad?

Short, simple version, their commonality ends with the piece of copper that ends up in your house. Once it gets to the cabinet?

Did you feel the quake?

Fucken hell.

Glad to hear Emma, David and the extended PAS family are okay so far, and fingers crossed everybody else?

" Extensive Welfare Shakeup Needed: Report"

KPI achieved I would say. And probably slipping fast off the radar for a few days, weeks, months.........

The time of day really helped with that one. In countries with construction standards, quakes that happen during hours of darkness tend to be less-serious from a people safety perspective than ones that happen during daylight hours when?

Yeah, both Telecom and TelstraClear have evacuated their buildings, but there is routing in place to take calls to other centres. Reports are that the TelstraClear building in Hereford St (the one that survived the last quake) is pretty much?

Two things make this not the absolute "worst case": it wasn't rush hour, and it didn't trigger a tsunami.

Small blessings.

They're also considering locking down the XT network for 111 calls only, but only?

Actually, rush hour would've been better in some ways. Fewer people inside buildings. At rush hour, the PGC building would've been mostly empty, for example. It's a very mixed blessing.
As for a tsunami, being the epicentre means the wave?

Fuck.

A stronger earthquake located just offshore could have caused similarly bad damage and a totally inescapable (because it would arrive so quickly) tsunami. But true, nothing onshore would have that effect.

Stuff had a quote from the Dean of the Cathedral earlier:

4.01 pm: The Dean of the Cathedral, Peter Beck, says he had no idea how many people were inside the church.

He says they tried to get?

I don't know about the hostels per se, I've heard from/about students in the general area whose flat have been undamaged. Hoping!

3 News spoke to a rescue worker who said much the same thing.

The Orion electricity network ceo was saying to tv1 early on that Riccarton's power was relatively OK. RNZ just said 80% of network still out.

I suppose if the epicentre is closer to Lyttelton this time then?

Let us know when you hear.

What a mess.

Chch Mayor Bob Parker sounded reassuringly statesmanlike on Radio NZ earlier – but then sadly I guess he's had some practice by?

I would have thought the Prime Minister would be better off being somewhere with intact communications systems rather than campaigning...

Visible leadership on the ground is important to reassure people. It's only human.

Oh, ok then...

hope he can live up to the occassion.
Yes... let's hope...

Yup. Whether he was arriving or leaving is irrelevant, the comments from his press secretary made it clear that they were at the airport when the quake occurred. If that's not an incredible coincidence, I want to know why he hasn't killed?

Yes, well it worked for Bob Parker.
Will our Prim Minister be wearing his sleeves rolled up?
Sorry but I just hate the hypocrisy.

yeah, 'cos the cops and the many others that will be allocated to this visit have nothing better to do. Official Prime Ministerial visits absorb resources and can cause minor chaos in the best of times....

Wandering around disaster zones with TV crews?

Newstalk ZB reported it, I think, but have now conceded it's wrong.

Simon, that'd be a distraction I agree, but Bligh limited herself to providing regular media updates away from the recovery effort and ensured there was consistent and informed information to residents as well as to?

Indeed, just like last time...

The first citizen needs to be there. I'm sure they'll do what they can to minimise the disruption. It's just how it's done. And I'm sure it won't hurt his image, but he's not there?

A leadership role – like Bligh's – would be valuable but I'm doubtful he could find it in himself to walk away from the temptation of the those?

Of course if he stayed in Wellington and sent someone else, you?d be complaining too. Stick to?

Not if he'd sent Paula Bennet, you know, the Welfare Minister. Would have shown "good delegation skills" but hey...
I'm not telling you what to think, just telling you how I feel.

The TV3 feed is playing live here. That's what the world is watching, via ABC. I'm as traumatised by the human side as anyone?

You would wish Paula Bennett on Christchurch?

The thing that got me first, not necessarily most, was on the radio when a person called in and asked if he could make a community announcement;

"Just a message to all the?

I'll say.

I'm mostly just finding it hard to deal with the idea that people will clearly be pulled away from hugely essential work while this visit happens.

As they will.

Of course if he stayed in Wellington and sent someone else, you?d be?

Smouldering ruins. No words

+1

Smouldering ruins. No words.
+2

+3. I'd like to think we're better than that.

There's snipers now?
Look out Mr Key...

The NZ Blood Service have posted this on their Facebook page:

__News media is incorrectly reporting that the Blood Service needs donors now. This is not the case. If and when we need donors we will let you know?

At a time like this any distraction helps. Sitting at a keyboard telling people to worry does not.
If you want to help, give blood, stay off the phone, volunteer, give advice to those that ask, question your leaders as to how this?

This isn't politics. This is a massive disaster. The Prime Minister has just been on TV1 saying 65 people have died. Talk politics all you like, but please don't do it here.

Natural forces equivalent to more energy than that released by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear explosions combined generally don?t respect human concepts such as ?started recovery?. This was possible because the?

Sure does. TV3 just said (about 6.25pm) that the hospitals were calling for blood donors. It's not easy to know what to believe about anything.

It's worth saying though that TV3 for those of us offshore, has been phenomenal in all this. Every New Zealander I know beyond living beyond the nation's shores has been sitting glued to one of their various international feeds for hours, mostly ABC.

Thank you – it?

A couple of hours ago on the telly they had a phone report from a former Close Up journalist who was in?

Can anyone tell me what was happening with the CTV building? Was it already condemned from September or something? Doesn't seem like they're talking about many?

That's a truly horrible prospect.

http://www.facebook.com/WellingtonAirport/posts/204356046245380

No, it?s totally appropriate.

3News had this:

5.58pm ? Prisoners were evacuated from Christchurch?s central court building following the quake. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said all of tomorrow?s court sittings in Christchurch had been cancelled and court fixtures in Timaru,?

we haven't heard from her. It's nervewracking waiting and wondering from far away and even too diffficult for those of the whanau in Chrsitchurch to get any news.

I hope, with all my heart, that she's okay.

Reports are that 60% of the main road (London St) is destroyed, its so sad.

Did anyone catch John?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3S2ezeaO3w&NR=1

For this work Adams assembled a text comprised of three main sources: brief fragments taken from missing person signs that?

What makes you think it was superimposed?

An indication of the force: the large stereo speaker stored on shelves 6 feet above ground flew across?

No worries. Oddly enough, there's a shitload of good whisky in the town right now — Dramfest 11 was supposed to start on Friday.

My family OK – house?

@DavidHuebner David Huebner
After brief mtg with FM McCully to offer assistance, en route with Congressmen to St Paul's to offer prayers.

I seriously hope they summoned the USAR teams before that.

I'm really affected by this, and I hardly know a soul there.

You mean "offer assistance"? Given that Key said we've been offered USAR assistance by the US and Aus, and accepted, I presume that takes care of what you want to see. Really want to know who else is offering USAR?

That is bugging the crap out of me. Got friends in Lyttleton and I'd have expected the odd camera shot from a helipopeter – at least – of the?

Then again on reflection it probably doesn't hurt to take ten minutes to marshal your thoughts and your?

How can we help?

Don't forget that diplomats just relay messages. Getting USAR out of the US requires approval from FEMA, a bloated bureaucracy even before it?

TV3 is also all over CNN at?

I walk into my ten-year-old's school just as the first big aftershock hits. The rugby goalposts are whipping back and forth and suddenly there she is, right in front of me, walking back to her class from the playground assembly point. Never has a hug?

He tweeted earlier on that they'd lost visiting high-ranker Richard Armitage – found him later, thankfully. All those international players right in the middle of it must be adding some pressure for the government to perform well.