Editor:
Last September in the early hours of the morning, the beautiful New Zealand city of Christchurch survived a massive 7.1 earthquake (a similar size to Haiti) that despite causing considerable damage miraculously injured only a handful and killed none.
A month later I visited Christchurch and was amazed to see that despite considerable damage to some areas, it was very much business as usual. In that intervening month the area had experienced over 1,600 aftershocks, some of them quite big.
Locals were rattled but they are a hardy bunch – everyone knew they just had to repair the damage and get on with it. The aftershocks continued.
Then, in November nearby Greymouth suffered one of New Zealand’s worst coal mining disasters. Greymouth is a small community on the rugged west coast only 240 km from Christchurch.
The Pike River Mine, a major local employer, was decimated by a huge underground explosion. Kiwis around the world and many thousands of others hung on in hope for almost a week as rescue teams tried to gain entrance to find survivors in the mine.
Then most cruelly, in the midst of great hope, another explosion occurred followed by two or three more and all hope was instantly destroyed. Twenty-nine coal miners died in the Pike River Mine.
The entire nation stopped and many people wept in the streets on the day of the memorial. Greymouth and the nation picked up and carried on. Donations flooded in to a memorial trust fund for the families. The City of Christchurch, still struggling in the aftermath of the September quake, made a large donation to the fund.
Last week, at around lunch time on Tuesday (Feb. 22) another huge quake hit Christchurch. It was smaller than the September quake at 6.3 but it was also shallower, closer and the shaking was faster and more violent.
This time the damage was much worse; buildings collapsed or fell into the street crushing vehicles. The iconic Christchurch Cathedral at the centre of the city has been severely damaged.
This time many people were injured. This time sadly, there have been fatalities. As I write this the death toll stands at 160 and will surely increase as rescuers work through the rubble. NZ Prime Minister John Key has warned the nation that this may have been New Zealand’s “darkest day”.
This quake is yet another cruel blow for New Zealand and in particular Christchurch and surrounding areas.
They will get through I have no doubt. Kiwis will rally together to continue to face this tough series of events and support those most affected, but I’m certain they could use some help.
I would like to appeal to the residents of the Bow Valley to consider making donations to support rescue and relief efforts. The New Zealand Red Cross website can be found at www.redcross.org.nz
Chris “Kiwi” Conway
Canmore
