N Z Earthquake up date.

[Rikijohn]

Yes they continue to come after shocks with no warnigs of time size location depth or degree of intended damage if any.

My week in hospital In Christchurch just confirmed first hand what our people are suffering every day and evening. Many after shocks are very strong and shake hell out of buildings for a period of seconds which seam like minutes other shakes are just a short sharp upward motion jolt. Whatever style they are not pleasant.

We had to go into the centre of the city and the damage we saw was shocking to say the very least. Roads are a mess and very uneven. Drains pushed upwards to a point you need to drive around them. or they are closed off. Authorities are working on changing traffic signals and road signs to try and flow the traffic better. The trouble is you can no longer drive across the city you have to drive around the outer edge of the city CBD which is the main problem.

Travel by car is just mayhem with traffic. A 15 minute trip is now taking anything up to 45 - 60 minutes.

Much of the CBD has been opened to some business owners and residents. Some areas are still closed due to high risk. Yet those business owners are starting to protest and add to the overall policing etc. Some of these people are either damn ignorant of just don't appreciate The high danger or the workload on the authorities as they attempt to satisfy everyone.

Another team is trying to recover cars for people from car parks etc Damaged or undamaged they go and search for the car as owners arrive and check in to collect them. They prove ownership etc and then sit a wait. Some driven off others towed.

The memorial service was excellent what I saw of it They covered every group of our multicultural society. The massive crowd (100,000 plus ) paid a huge respect by a standing ovation to all the rescue workers and Australian police that were able to be present. A huge debate over this service re the timing etc but in the end the people spoke by their attendance and the after function comments prove it was a winner.

Many people have left the city and are not intending to return, while others are considering their options. trouble these earthquakes are not just located in Christchurch. It is NZ that is getting the shakes from one end to the other.

So much achieved yet still so much to achieve. Cheers John

[Rikijohn]

Yesterday the government appointed a state services manager to head a new government state dept to oversea and manage the rebuild of the city . This new dept is established for at least 5 years and will appoint local people and experts to be responsible for all the decisions required and consider what the locals want for their new city. The head reports direct to government cabinet so has hug power to cut through red tape and get decisions made and actions underway with the urgency that is required.

It is an excellent appointment and one that has been very welcomed from local government. The task to rebuild is simply way too large for any local authority to manage on it's own.
I have to say our current government under the leadership of our PM John Key is making some first class decisions and forcing a direction that we have not experienced from government for many years. By far the majority of the people are happy with this news but as expected there are some who we can never satisfy.

Earth quakes continue with a 4.1 last night at ours sons area where the first quake took place last Sept. There is no let up sadly.

[KerryS]

And their theme tune will be Elvis' "All shook up" perhaps?

Sounds as though progress is being made, should look better by the time we make it to NZ.
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[Rikijohn]

Hello Kerry. yes I like the choice of theme song. Very appropriate I think.LOL

Yes there is some excellent progress being made to help with control and decision making plus have the ability to cut through the red tap. This is what Christchurch needs so I hope the people will accept this structured government body. There will be huge input by locals which is important.

Are you saving up your small change to visit.? there will be a bed here for you both when you do.
Cheers John

[KerryS]

Thanks John. It'll be a couple of years yet. It was going to be New England in the Fall this year but after the magnificent autumn colours we had here last year, it seemed a bit pointless, so France for a month instead. Next year is our Ruby anniversary and it'll be Norway again, so 2014 OK with you??

[Rikijohn]

2014 is fine with me . We should make a date . If you did come maybe I could spend some time with you and take you to some key spots. We would look forwrad to that cheers John