Editorial

I’m beginning to think I’m related to Ken Moon. Forget lunar calendars and solar eclipses and other such nonsense. I can accurately predict that the next big earthquake in Christchurch will strike on or around 10 October.

Have I been swirling tea leaves? Measuring geotechtonic vibes? No. It’s all to do with production of this magazine. The February edition almost didn’t happen as the quake struck as our pages were being signed off, and anything relating to the recovery following the September quake had to be scrapped, and all new material found at very short notice.

Now again, this edition is at the proofing stage, and more quakes have struck, hence my prediction that production of the October/ November edition will coincide with the next major quake.

Of course I speak with my tongue firmly in my cheek. How Christchurch residents must long for an accurate method of predicting the next big shake so that they can decide to leave town, if they so wish.

Sitting up here in Auckland, I cannot imagine what the city’s beleaguered residents must be going through. Watching the raw videos on the various media sites online gives some indication of the hardships they face – of the utter fright on their faces as the ground shakes and buildings tumble down around them, as more liquefaction bubbles up around their homes and clogs their streets, as they face another night without power or water.

There have been numerous cries from various parties for the government, CERA and the Fletcher-managed EQR to just get on with the job of rebuilding Christchurch, but every quake sets things back ever further.

Just this morning, a status update from Lyttelton Port of Christchurch landed in my inbox. “Yesterday’s aftershocks caused further damage to LPC infrastructure and facilities,” chief executive Peter Davie states. “The port was already damaged extensively in the September and February earthquakes. The latest earthquakes have impacted on the programme of repair work that was already underway.”

How disheartening it must be for those that have worked so hard to complete repairs since the February quake to see new cracks and further damage inflicted. How soul-destroying it is for those that claim Christchurch as their home to see its much-loved heritage lying crushed on the city’s streets.

Will Christchurch as a city rise again? Almost certainly. Will its outer-lying suburbs be abandoned as unsuitable for redevelopment? Quite possibly. But how much more of this uncertainty can Christchurch residents take?

Until next time ...

Lynne Richardson Editor