4 yrs ago, a 6.3 eq struck my city....

[Mum_NZ]

It's hard to believe that it has been 4 years since that scary day. The earthquake struck right under Christchurch city and we experienced the greatest downward and upward acceleration with any recorded earthquake. 185 people died.

Four years ago I was over the other side of Chch when it struck. It took 3 hours to get back to my kids school, listening to the news in the car about deaths in the city mall, and feeling more big aftershocks in the car, only to get back to the kids school to remember my youngest son was in town on a school trip. The three buses the school had taken in were down to one bus to bring them home. Still very thankful to that one bus driver lady who thought of the kids in town and knew she had to get to them even though her kids were elsewhere. My son was injured by glass coming down on him and had to ride on the floor of the bus up the front, with teachers trying to keep him calm, the doors open, and he was able to see quite a bit on their very slow roundabout journey home. It wasn't until October that he was able to tell anyone what he saw that day, including bodies, the crushed buses, injured people....

In the meantime, I got the rest of my kids home but kept them outside while I went in. Bookcases had fallen over, tv's crashed on the floor... I was grabbing some clothes for everyone when another big quake struck, hanging on the moving drawers and at the same time watching the hall walls bounce in and out and sideways all at once. Grabbed the clothes and got out of there in a hurry! We slept in the car that night, my kids stayed with an out of town relative for the next six weeks while I continued sleeping in our van on the driveway. Thankfully our house is livable, although twisted, and we are still waiting for repairs. Youngest son had counselling for about two years but still doesn't like going to sleep by himself, or lifts, or the beach (tsuamis).

Our city has altered beyond recognition in parts. The city centre has huge tracks of cleared land but in parts you can still see the collapsed buildings fenced off. New buildings have been very slow in going up. In the suburbs over our side of town the bad roads continue, house demolitions carry on, and the occasional new house pops up. Large amounts of houses have gone in areas where the land is deemed unstable. Schools have closed or merged as the population around them has changed. After over 15,000 aftershocks things seemed to have settled down but we are all on edge. There is too much to remind us of what we have been through...

[jacinda]

Hugs to you and all you've been through. I can't believe after 4 years some people still don't have their homes fixed. My in-laws are near Rolleston, and damage to their home was mostly cosmetic, so they were very lucky. We come down from Auckland once or twice a year, and though I can see the rebuilding, it makes me sad for everything that was lost, and my heart breaks for those still struggling with the aftermath.

[flergs]

Wow 4 years already! Was such a sad & scary time

[scrap2day]

I'm sorry that you and your family had to go though that. It sounds so scary.

[kendallt]

Gosh, that must have been terrifying! I am so sorry for all you've had to go through these last few years and pray that things get better soon for everyone in your area. Hugs!

[JennNtheBoys]

Wow....so scary!
I am glad that everyone is safe and it sounds like everyone is working through things and progressing. Big Hugs.