Living in the Quake Zone part 2!

Kia Ora,

For each person of course it has been different. On this side of town(West & South West unless by Halswell) there has been little damage this time apart from fact we still have to boil water & initially not flush the toilet. We are now allowed short showers & if you have running water to flush the toilet sparingly in part to allow them to find where the damage is.

That is in total contrast to what we are finding on our anti looting/welfare/recce for the student army patrols.

First there as I said in previous post a lot of empty houses & it is quite obvious. I have just heard one way looters are checking properties out is drving in with dimmed lights then shining their lights into a house to see if anybody is home.

Another comment on TV this morning was about 15 houses looted in one street.

Now one vehicle might not be able to do much & it is more about a presence on the street as eyes & ears for the police. Last night we ended up in the area centred around Hampshire Street. Now mention Hampshire street to people in Christchurch & immediately it comes under the umbrella of a no go area. Known for crime & gang connections. But they are people.

For many we were the first or second people from outside the area they had seen in five days. They knew the CBD was pretty bad but other than that there was no real information. Some had been into other suburbs near by & seen the portaloos but they had nothing. They were saying there was a lot of looting in the area. I wouldn't want to be one of those looters if the gangs get hold of them.

We were trying to get the Student Volunteer Army into that area in the next 48 hours based on the information we gathered. With my offsider assisting them with the information we have gathered & my vehicle still within the cordon I am trying to access a 4WD to continue what we are doing.

Many have been to the welfare centres & have come back more frustrated & angry. They are saying they are disorganized there are arguments & they are better off in their damaged homes looking after their street.

On the quiet we were told by one resident a person set up to receive all the food etc coming into one area was not handing it out to the people who were his neighbours but disappearing with it & coming back empty. The details were passed to the police.

In another area it was heartwarming to see an ex soldier had organized the area & now the police & army were delivering the food etc coming in from the likes of Rangiora to his house. It was just a big open home & the atmosphere was quite different to the areas where they felt they were just been ignored.

If anything this disaster has shown that many want to help no matter their personal situation. It means the response needs to be better organized right from the start. That means thinking on their feet whilst the systems are given the time to set up. Those systems also need to be flexible.

It is the frustration with the Civil defence system that means the likes of the Student army are so popular & getting things done.

One sour note was I was not actually not supposed to be out with Bernie last night as was rung to carryout security work for a large company since their contracted company had not got back to them as to whether they could provide a guard. So arrive courtesy of Bernie with pushbike in tow. Then the contracted company arrogantly showed up said here is your guard. The client was embarrassed & so I called Bernie to come back & collect me.

Might not of been making any cash last night but it was more rewarding especially with the good reception we got as amongst the first people to visit area around Hampshire street. It would be nice to have the cash flow to allow this to happen on a larger scale in situations like this. That has always been the plan but so far it has just not quite clicked.

There have been more good stories though.

Like the car load of Brazillians here on holiday looking to help. Then there was the 35 year old woman(that is how it was relayed to us) who had driven with a car load of food from Auckland to a street near Hampshire street, handed out the food then drove straight back. Until we arrived she was the only person that street had seen apart from locals & looters/suspicious vehicles.

I see on Quake map there have still been a few earthquakes in Christchurch but I haven't felt any for a while. Spoke too soon. A wee shimmy then. Unlike many I have been having good sleeps if short.

The media coverage is showing a good recovery effort but on the ground it is not what people are feeling or seeing. Most people seems sorted with food & water but are lacking portaloos & most of all information. When there is little or no information, even when they know others are much worse off, it starts to feel like they have yet again been forgotten. The frustration & anger was quite apparent.

If there is one thing people do have in common is the power of the shake. It is hard to forget the amazing immense power & how insignificant all that man can make is in comparison.

Still you can mitigate the effects & that is where the New Zealand mindset has to change. The health & safety teaching as I was told is you eliminate the risk. Since you can't eliminate things like this then New Zealand seems to just switch off. Like if we don't think about it it won't happen. Well it does & you just have to mitigate the risks.

At this stage it is looking like a pushbike patrol again to an area closer to home. Even the 4WD hire company seems to be affected.

If people haven't left the city(one territorial soldier we spoke to last night said it seemed about half of Christchurch is in Timaru & not coming back) they are out helping or resting from helping. I am aware of people now setting up in Oamaru, Nelson, Amberely virutally any place but Christchurch. Some are only staying to prevent looting. Family has gone, just the men in the main left to guard the home front. But not so many of them either & the Scum know it.

http://www.foxhoundsecurity.co.nz