Christchurch earthquake: Aftermath experiences

By Crystal

Employers should be obligated to provide pay for employees when state of emergency in place (And/or forced closure), or at least have insurance for it. we get sick pay, breavement leave etc but why is there no provision for natural disasters? I know its not the employer's fault that the business has to close but neither is it the employee's. In short, Life is POOR after the earthquake after having lost my job. :(

By colleen

I live in Governors Bay, just over the port hills from CHCH. i am desperate for a good nights sleep, a 4.6 and a 3.7 this morning and a 3.8 early morn) made that impossible. everytime there is a shake my adrenaline kicks in and i'm up to get to my babies ( 6 months and 2 and a half). I am torn between being at home, or being away from home, just in case another 'big one' happens. When my husband goes to work i am afraid of being parted from him, and him from us. The stress from this is like nothing i've experienced and we are the lucky ones that didn't lose our home. Thanks to the rest of the country for it's support, plesase learn from our experience and be prepared.

By Rhonda

I'm from Chch but now live in the North Island.I have family and friends there and when I got a call before 7am Saturday morning I was not impressed and did not even answer it. I eventually read a text an hour later. Texts and calls have shown me just how stressful and frightening the aftershocks can be. My mother even ended up in hospital with heart problems after one of the aftershocks. On the tv and papers I see many of the buildings and churches I know damaged. If i didn't have the flu that I don't want to pass on to anyone to make your problems worse, I would have come back to help.
It's a miracle no one has been killed. Isn't it also timely that only a few weeks before this there was a very informative program on TV1 'How to Survive an Earthquake.' This is surely God. I do believe God is shaking the country and warning people to turn from their ways and to Him. But He is also showing his love and mercy to Christchurch. My prayers and thoughts are with you all, including the pets, down there.

By Aaron

I spent the weekend digging out our looooooong driveway, which was buried in up to 2 feet of sand. When first trying to get out I got the car stuck (on our concrete driveway), and had to dig it out. It was just like being at the beach - about 1.5 foot of sand on top, and you'd dig through that and reach a couple of inches of water underneath, then sand under that again. Anyway, I figure there's probably 8 cubic meters of sand at the bottom of the drive now, quite a few blisters and sore muscles later!

By Upset over harry

It quite upsetting to hear "Harry" crying over the radio today and having to be spoken to like it was all a joke, and the hosts seem to think of it as a joke.. who cares if you moved on to another topic to talk about maybe you dont seem to understand the pain some are going through in Christchurch, they probably have no support or family and just wanted to get their distressed pain out to others...

By Jan

I heard the first call come thru early Saturday morning and remember hearing the frightened caller telling Dudley what was happening. It took me about as long as it took Dudley....What was coming down the wire was in fact a reality and the start of something I think all New Zealanders have feared for a long time. *** I congratulate Dudley for the way he handled the situation. I can guess where his thoughts were as he stayed calm with each cal telling us this was no ordinary shake ***The courage shown by all who live in the Canterbury Region as this past week has unfolded. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. But goodness me there is something very special about the Ordinary Kiwi...What a special bunch of people and in the face of something like this happening where I live, I would not want to be living anywhere else....We are looking at the very heart of our own people and I warmed what I am seeing.

By Julia

Life post earthquake is hard i still have my home luckily but living with the fear of a bigger quake and the aftershocks is a living nightmare. Nerves are tested and had to go and get something from the doctors to clam me down. Work for me continued as normal but to try and work with the after effects of such an event and lack of sleep are very hard. There seems to be a must carry on attitude at work and to be honest i think some paid time off should of been given to any employees needing time to over come this teriible event. I can't get sick leave on my current contract and feel forced to carry when i don't feel i can. But need the money to pay the bills.
I feel very much for those who have suffered worse then myself and wonder how they are coping, I've offered my home open to another family if they need help. I would like to help others and when i get some free time with see if i can help as a volunteer.

By Loretta

I live in Rolleston. Our family still has our house in good order except for the Kitchen Chimney It collapsed in abit and probably isn't stable so getting the Fire Brigade to come check it. The kids are fighting so back to normal for them. My nerves are shot. I got hurt when things fell on me and have some pretty impressive bruises appearing. Every aftershock makes it worse.