The World split in Three!

Kia Ora,

When you look at the aftermath of the earthquakes here in Christchurch especially the one in February the city has split itself basically into three worlds.

It just happens that I live where one of them prevails & have been working or out in the other two.

First there is the world of the Eastern Suburbs. Basically because of their personal situation many out that way are now struggling to meet the basic needs in life. They feel forgotten at times. Others out there that can have picked themselves up but in reality the Eastern suburbs of Christchurch need to revert to the productive farmland it once was.

This is the world that affects people most & the damage is vastly different in most case to that of the CBD. The people who live here often at the wrong end of the food chain.

It is becoming quite evident that there are a number of fault lines running close too or under the city that no one knew about & as the cycle has started again the soil is not the right type to rebuild on.

The Prime Ministers prediction of 10,000 homes not been rebuilt from what I saw might be very light in the final count. As earthquakes are now been centred under some of the worst hit low lying areas new liquifaction is emerging which, as we have found, is very destructive or destabilizing.

Then there is the world of the CBD in particular the red zone where I am working now. The last place I saw destruction like that was in Baghdad just after arriving to work there.

Those mainly affected here are the business world.

As time has gone on I think everyone can understand their frustration especially when they look at the way Japan has got into clean up mode.

Problem here is firstly poor communication from Civil Defence.

Secondly the New Zealand mindset was never ready for this & still hasn't accepted it, so the actions Civil Defence should be taking of fast take down of most of the CBD is not happening as they try to keep everyone happy. Not going to happen & the longer it takes the more frustration & anger.

The adverse reaction to the Prime Ministers comment about 10,000 homes or the earthquake recovery ministers bulldozing all the old dungers actually show the issues Civil Defence are having to deal with. People are just falling into the third world in Christchurch with their reactions.

The third world is the one most in New Zealand would fall into. The lack of reality world which I have posted about prior to the earthquakes.

At the moment due to lack of information this includes many of those CBD business people. It also includes many of those in the West of Christchurch for which February 22nd was just a good shake & an inconvience. Many who were in the city on the day are also in this group as many went into shock or denial & still haven't come to terms with what happened.

It includes those who for what ever reason want to or try to enter the red zone putting their own & others lives at risk.

Amongst these are the residents now been led by an immature city councillor wanting to treat the area like it was a normal living area. This is a major blunder on the part of Civil Defence. No one should be living within the red zone. There can be no debate in this as hard as it is for people. It is hard enough trying to keep the area secure with so many ways to slip in without having residents thinking it is their own private backyard.

As a police officer said in reality no one not even police should be allowed inside the cordon as they work their way in securing properties. I suggested the priviso of the army's LAV's with their night vision & the fact they give some protection to the occupants from falling buildings & speed to get out over rough terrain.

Many of those who think they can go into these areas are not situationally aware.

When the 5.1 quake hit last Sunday I was standing with two people as we began to look for a vagrant we know is in the area. One had never felt an earthquake before. The other had but though their reactions were good as they ran into the road they were not situationally aware of that building. Sometimes you are just aware even if you haven't been there. But having been patrolling that area I knew that its weak point was in another direction & that another weak point was likely to fall towards the middle of the road. So I walked off at a slightly different angle more worried about my cup of tea not spilling but keeping an eye on the second weak point.

Most people in Christchurch at the time of the February quake just froze or went into denial & what I have noticed is that is becoming more evident not less as you would think it would since. It was noted by many who were situationally aware that people ran in the wrong direction, did strange things or carried on like nothing happened totally oblivious to the situation.

It is strange seeing the three worlds interact.

One woman was allegedly removed from a supermarket by staff when she started ranting about people in a badly hit suburb & how they deserved no help. Because their nearest supermarkets at the time were out of action many at that store at the time were from that suburb. In fact the person who told me this was in line behind her & is from that suburb.

Ideally to make the city one again as much as we can the Eastern suburbs need to be moved West of the present city boundaries as does the CBD returning that land to productive farmland & park. The land to the West is harder in composition & not as productive as much of the land Christchurch is presently built on.

Not only can we build a newer safer city to the West but mitigate the effect of an earthquake. Another well known person has come out in the media saying there will not be another earthquake for a long time. They said that after September, but all along the Alpine Fault is known to be overdue for a big shake alone not counting the unknown faults still coming to our attention near & under Christchurch.

Even the current West of the city is not immune after so many shakes will have weakened the buildings by all the shaking. As was shown modern building standards as much as old were not built to withstand more than one good shake. The ones that seem to have survived best are those built by the old Ministry of Works to standards that came out of the 31 Napier earthquake. Seems just like in the financial crisis we are re learning all the lessons of the past.

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