Christchurch earthquake

Wow. A surreal weekend. Christchurch was hit by a 7.1 (or 7.0, there appears to be some debate) earthquake at 4:35am local time yesterday. The aftershocks continued all day. Pretty terrifying for everyone there, but luckily there have been no casualties. It's so fortunate that the earthquake hit in the early hours of the morning - any later and there would be people and cars everywhere; any earlier and the central city bars and streets would still have been full. We've heard from family and friends and they are all okay, although there is extensive damage to property and possessions. Some have no water or power. It's terribly sad to see so many of the old heritage buildings destroyed or severely damaged. I'm concerned about Vanessa and Warren of Tete a Tete Vintage, as their premises are located in older buildings in the centre of town - if you read this, guys, please let me know if everything is all right!


The clock in Victoria Street stopped at the time of the quake (from here).

Damage on Victoria Street, just down the road from where we lived (from here).

The travel agent just down the road from our house - or, at least, our house until two weeks ago. From here.

My hairdresser's (from here).

The Repertory Theatre. Sweeney Todd was meant to be opening there soon. It was a wonderful old theatre. From here.

For more images of the damage, go here. So horrible.