New Zealand is in very bad shape

[malaise]

As the lady on BBC said the building code saved lives, but the survivors are under severe stress with unbelievable damage around them. The army is now on the street during the night curfews.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11191105
<snip>
Almost two-thirds of the 160,000 homes in and around Christchurch have been damaged by Saturday's earthquake, New Zealand's prime minister has said.

John Key said many had been damaged beyond repair, and that it might take some time to discover the damage to the region's underground infrastructure.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

I was awe-struck by the power of the earthquake and the damage it has caused in the city”

End Quote John Key New Zealand Prime Minister

A state of emergency in Christchurch has been extended until Wednesday, and the city centre remains cordoned off.

Experts have warned a major aftershock could rock the area in the near future.

[SpiralHawk]

1. 2/3 = about 106,000 damaged homes in Christchurch

Wow. Devastating...No doubt more damage elsewhere...

[unhappycamper]

2. The pictures show the devastation.

Google using "new zealand earthquakes"

***CAUTION***

My machine was attacked when looking up these pictures. The attacking URL was: www.spi2a.ru/flash/banner/config.php?news=earthquake-new-zealand

***CAUTION***

[malaise]

5. Here's a Radio New Zealand link

They have been providing useful information
http://www.radionz.co.nz/

Generally they play great music - we often listen to cricket here.

[malaise]

7. Well they'd better because this surely is a disaster

of serious proportions.

LOL posted in the wrong spot. :D

[Art_from_Ark]

13. I'm pretty sure the 2nd picture is not of New Zealand

The truck on the far right has lettering in Chinese characters-- probably somewhere in Taiwan. The first picture is also suspect.

[Nay]

14. The first and the second pic I remember from that Chinese earthquake.

[wickerwoman]

3. I'm sure it's not helping that John Key sacked the entire regional council

five months ago and replaced them with unelected cronies.

[malaise]

4. Wow

Interesting information.

[wickerwoman]

6. To be fair,

they were pretty incompetent and borderline corrupt. They were caught selling off more water permits than there was water in the river.

But yeah, local government in Canterbury has been pretty chaotic for the past six months. Hope they can pull it together and straighten out service provision for the victims.

[ensho]

8. NZ is a beautiful country with sane citizens

wishing them well during this disaster.

[depakid]

9. I had a hard time believing that there was so much unreinforced masonry

along with awnings that were bound to fall.

As hard as things are (especially with the storm that came through after the quake) things could have been a whole lot worse, had people not been at home in bed when it hit.

[malaise]

12. Yep the time of the quake made all the difference

Give thanks for that.

[jpak]

10. OMG - that's horrible. I spent lots of time in Christchurch, it's great little city

and it's a major logistic center for the US Antarctic Program - we have planes and a depot at the airport and the US research icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer uses the harbor in Lyttelton (just ove the hill from Christchurch).

I'm glad all are safe, but this is shocking...

[OneGrassRoot]

11. K&R n/t