The Rugby World Cup in Christchurch

It was the news many Canterbury rugby fans dreaded - the Rugby World Cup games have been removed from AMI Stadium. The only consolation I can think of is at least the decision was made quickly and now we don't have to fret about hosting 20,000 odd people in a city that lost at least half if not more of its hotel beds following the earthquake.

On 22 February, the question of RWC games being played in Christchurch was raised. Like many, at the time, I didn't care. The Rugby World Cup was in the words of Doc Hudson "an empty cup". It didn't matter and neither did rugby. Lives had been lost and more parts of Christchurch were badly damaged. For a few days it was a non-issue. The Rugby World Cup didn't matter. Slowly, but surely the question started to be raised some more. I felt that it was still a non-issue. But my feelings changed on 4 March when the Crusaders played the Warratahs in Nelson. I watched this more out of habit than any maddening desire to follow the Crusaders. I was also worried there would be too much emotion and the Crusaders would be crushed, especially as the Warratahs had been pretty ruthless in disposing of their first two opponents. And it looked that way for most of the first half until the Crusaders mounted a comeback and basically belted the Warratahs.

If you are looking for something positive to give you a lift when you are down, then the Crusaders are a pretty sure bet. They win far more than they lose and they usually put on a pretty clinical show. This Crusaders team has the potential to be the best one ever. There were people talking about something else apart from earthquakes all of a sudden. Now there was something to look forward to and sure enough, the next weekend, the Crusaders belted their traditional foe 52-10 in Nelson. If they can go on and win the competition, it would be a phenomenal achievement as they would not have played any games at their normal home.

With that in mind, my feelings on the RWC games are they should not have been taken away. When in a disaster zone, you need things to look forward to and the problems associated with AMI stadium were certainly not insurmountable. Accommodation could have been handled. Team facilities could have been handled. It could have been a goal for the people of Christchurch to look forward to, much like the Mardi Gras in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. And the worst bit? We would have pulled it off.

Earthquakes both here and abroad

Dr Mark Quigley may be the most respected New Zealander in the country at the moment. As a nation, we tend to like the no bullshit, matter-of-fact type characters that don't pull the wool over our eyes. That could explain why Willie Apiata consistently appears at the top of the most respected New Zealander list despite the fact that he is in the SAS and is supposed to be on secret missions.

Many Cantabrian's have found solace in Mark's easy to understand explanations of what has happened and have appreciated his no bullshit approach. His public lectures could have made him a rich man and instead of having curtain raisers at the rugby, the Canterbury Rugby Union could have used him to deliver one of his lectures. Could have boosted ticket sales.

We all knew that the news of 22 February would be tomorrows fish and chip paper, but who knew what would happen in Japan? With everything so raw for us, all of a sudden a country that New Zealand has quite a close relationship, suffers an unimaginable catastrophe. All the more considering the Japanese search and rescue teams worked so hard while here and the huge Japanese media interest in the 22 February earthquake. While it was humbling to discover how many friends around the world New Zealand has, I would rather that we didn't have to repay friendship so quickly.

Many of us in New Zealand are asking, "is there a link between what is happening here and what is happening in Japan?" The answer is probably not even though in Canterbury we are on the same tectonic plate that caused the mega thrust earthquake in Japan.

So witnessing the absolute power that Mother Nature can unleash on us is scary, it's perhaps pertinent to remind ourselves that we don't own this planet. We are residents and we have to ride out what our home throws at us. Even if we are really well prepared, as Japan is, there is only so much you can do when a mega thrust earthquake occurs and in Japan's case, the tsunami's that can accompany them. I don't think that anyone who saw those images of the black water surging through towns, carrying cars, planes, ships along for the ride, will ever forget the relentless power of a tsunami.

Mark Quigley is again being sought after for his explanations. On Campbell Live on TV3, he again, was able explain, simply, what had happened in Japan and define to the best of the knowledge he had, what was happening here. And while Cantabrians may understand exactly what he is talking about now, whereas many other Kiwi's scratch their heads, Mark Quigley has provided much needed answers to some pretty important questions. It all adds to my theory that many of the successors to Mark Quigley and his generation of geologists, are going to come from the Canterbury region.

A Word About Aftershocks

The 4th of September 2010 at 4:35 am turned many people in Canterbury's lives around. It's epicentre was very near a place called Charing Cross, which unlike its London namesake, is hardly a bustling centre of activity, even though it's an intersection of six roads. The nearest towns are Darfield, Kirwee and West Melton. It's roughly halfway between Darfield and Burnham Military Camp. It's roughly 40 km's from where I live in Christchurch and unusually for New Zealand, the road distance is not much longer than the distance a harrier might fly to get there.

When we were all awoken that morning, Canterbury residents got a crash course on what it's like to live in a quake zone. Pretty soon the reason why so many Canterbury residents struggled to get a good nights sleep for the next few weeks made its presence felt. Aftershocks. There were several big ones following the main quake. All were preceded by the ominous rumble. Something that worried us all was the geologists saying there is always a large aftershock one magnitude unit less than the main quake.

The Wednesday following the earthquake there was a particularly nasty aftershock. It had us running for the door frames. After it finished, I breathed a sigh of relief. "There's our big aftershock", I told the family. But no. It was 5.1 on the Richter Scale. That was a lesson in proximity and depth of an earthquake.

As the months went past, so did the threat of a large aftershock. We were told to expect a magnitude 5 or more aftershock every four or five weeks. While we were in Auckland, Christchurch had a 5.1 aftershock. About five weeks after that, we had the deadly 6.3 aftershock. It started its own aftershock cycle. Only 15 minutes afterwards, a 5.7 aftershock hit the city. This one on its own was bigger than any of the aftershocks following the September earthquake. Mid afternoon, another one struck, this time 5.5 but very frightening.

The September earthquake and the February aftershock have been frightening enough, but for the hours, days, months afterwards, peoples anxiety levels are high. Some people outwardly are quite relaxed about aftershocks whereas others find them difficult to cope with. When I say difficult, I mean they can be absolutely hysterical when they strike.

I probably fall into the relaxed category with aftershocks, but that doesn't mean that I'm not anxious over them. After six months, my heart pounds and I hold my breath when I hear the familiar rumble. As I write, a 3.7 aftershock struck and even though it's relatively small, it was quite sharp. Half an hour later, I've finally calmed down.

There's been about 5000 aftershocks since September. Don't know for how long they are going to go on for.

Hand Sanitiser

You all know the stuff. If you visit elderly relatives in rest homes, you'll see it by the door. If you are in a hospital during a norovirus outbreak, you'll be familiar with it. If you have some obsessive, compulsive workmates, you'll know what the stuff in the pump bottle is. If you're in a disaster zone, you'll be smothered in the fucking stuff day in, day out. Everyone getting the idea where this is going?

In Christchurch many of us are missing the simple things. To flush the toilet everytime you wee. To flush the toilet full stop. To use a toilet instead of an upturned bucket with a hole cut in the bottom. To turn on a tap and drink straight from it (a real Christchurch experience). To water the garden. To switch on a light, though many more of us can now do that. To wash your hands with soap and water.

I'm starting to resent hand sanitiser. I can't put my finger on it. It's smell doesn't particularly offend me. The feel of it doesn't worry me. I even think it's cool the way you don't have to dry your hands. It's really what it represents. We are in a disaster zone and there are further bad things out to get us. In a nutshell. The habits that passed for hand hygiene, usually a quick exposure to water, are no longer good enough. Now the water that you have washed with has probably made you more toxic than before you showered. It now means that on every desk, around every corner, there's a bottle of the stuff. I've found if I haven't used any for 10 minutes, I'm worried I have picked up God knows how many goobies from the other unwashed barbarians. Who knows what they have been doing? Using long drops. Eating unprepared chicken. Or maybe they "showered" in Christchurch water. Add in the unwritten rule in Christchurch at the moment about not asking/telling about personal hygiene and you start to get the picture. There is only one way to guarantee you won't get dysentery - hand sanitiser! Before every meal; during every meal; in every meal.

Let's be honest. In a normal world hand sanitiser belongs at the doors of old peoples' homes, hospitals and the desks of obsessive, compulsive work colleagues. May it gather dust in the supermarkets along with bottled water when things turn to normal.

Otherwise, as well as some kick-arse geologists, Canterbury will produce the most obsessive, compulsive population in the country if not the world.

The Lonely Car

For those of us who have entered the currently cordoned off area of Christchurch central city, they would be familiar with a dark blue Mitsubishi Galant parked on the side of the road. Nothing remarkable about the car except for one thing. It is the only car parked on that stretch of road till you get over the river. The other thing is it is still sitting in silt up to its wheel rims whereas Montreal Street has almost been completely cleared of silt. And yet, like a preserved section of the Berlin Wall, this car is telling a story. It gives a snapshot of what Montreal Street must have looked like with about 20-30 cm of silt across it. It also shows what people had to do to get their cars out and moving. But it tells another, more poignant story - where is the driver.

Each day when I walked past, I thought of this. Has the driver simply fled town? Did they get a lift home with someone else and haven't returned because of the cordon? Did they simply walk home and not return because of the cordon? Are they injured in hospital? Or are they never going to pick up their car? I would like to think the earlier scenarios would be true, but I suspect it's one of the last two.

The cordon surrounding the central city will be partially lifted tomorrow at 8:00am. This will allow people who have their cars in the green zones to pick up their cars. And it means people in that zone can return to their workplaces to retrieve vital equipment providing their workplaces can be entered. In many cases as well as keys, they will also need crowbars.

For those who enter the cordon via Montreal Street, I hope they see a dark blue Mitsubishi being dug out of silt by friends while the driver tries again to get it out of the quagmire. And then never notice that dark blue Mitsubishi again.