Posts by Hilary Stace
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Interesting how the earthquake(s) has badly affected one particular area of Wellington - generally around Pipitea Point, while the more risky area of Cuba Street seems to have escaped unscathed. From Centreport, to Asteron House opposite the Railway Station and the Pipitea Campus of VUW, along Featherston Street, up Molesworth Street and Mulgrave Street and along Pipitea Street - there are numerous buildings affected, and most are relatively recently built. Some are slowly reopening after major clean ups but some are structurally damaged and will be out of action for months. Even the enormous historic organ in the Cathedral was smashed. There must have been a lot of very vigorous twisting and shaking in that area. The lower part is on reclaimed land but higher up it was considered safe enough to build the Regional Civil Defence Centre in Murphy Street about 20 years ago. Pipitea Point came through the 1848 and 1855 earthquakes OK. Interestingly the Railway Station, built in the 1930s, is fine.
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Hard News: #eqnz: Okay?, in reply to Sacha,
Or more accurately on the Wellington or Wairarapa fault lines. The 1848 earthquake was a 7.5 based in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough, and the 1855 8.2 in the Wairarapa. Duration and aftershock reports seem similar to Sunday's. The 1855 one caused the huge uplift of land around Wellington, and the water in the harbour sloshed around like a basin.
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Hard News: #eqnz: Okay?, in reply to B Jones,
Last night I went to a fundraising movie at the Paramount. Courtenay Place was buzzing like a regular Friday night. There was a notice on the cinema door that it had been checked for safety, but everyone there probably had a plan about what to do if one of the ongoing aftershocks got a big bigger.
There are a few cordoned off buildings around the city and the odd street but otherwise things are going on as normal. There are now 17,000 people living in the CBD and many of them are in high rise buildings. The people all survived the big quake(s) on Sunday night, as did the utility services (although there was obviously some water and other damage from sprinklers and flying furniture). There are specific areas where buildings were damaged - mostly out of the main CBD. So red zoning Wellington would mean evacuating an enormous number of people and businesses and basically cutting off Wellington.
Wellingtonians like me have generally been preparing for earthquakes all our lives. Many of us have always had earthquake kits and stored water. Following the last big ones in 2013 all sorts of systems were improved and now, for example, there are good email communications for building occupants. So from Monday morning, for example, the university had regular emails to staff about the state of its buildings and the checking and cleaning up process and estimates about when they will reopen.
The City Council and first responders also seem to have pretty good systems. The new Mayor's communications - mainly through social media - have been excellent. He has been very hands on around the town, including standing in the rain praising those clearing slips, doing impromptu videos, and dealing with a surprisingly hostile media. There has been extreme weather and well as earthquakes this week and he has done very well in only his second month in the job.
So far we have been pretty lucky as the main earthquakes on Sunday night could be considered the big one we have been waiting for, and we survived. But just as there has always been, there could be a bigger one around the corner. This latest experience has encouraged us to improve our own systems even more.
This is not Wellington smugness. As a Wellingtonian I have always made assessments, probably every day and wherever I am, of what would I do if a big earthquake hit in the next 5 minutes. We've now had a chance to practice. But panicking about closing the city now is not helpful. I also now realise how annoying it must be have been for Christchurch with people out of the city making judgements about what they should do.
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It is Dirty Politics on a global scale. The problem is how to counter it by being even even more astute with technology, psychology, education etc, but also ethical. If you believe that most people are inherently good and moral beings (and I suppose I mostly do) then ethical behaviour is more powerful than dirt and hate.
I think we will see a whole range of citizenship resistance, local and global, over the next few years. Some new, some old methods. Probably led by courageous young people.
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Hard News: #eqnz: Okay?, in reply to Russell Brown,
Lots of reports after the Japanese earthquake too. Why can't it just be the flash from the release of a vast amount of energy? Seems very plausible to me.
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That main earthquake just after midnight was the longest earthquake I've felt in a long time. Three people here shaken awake and under separate doorframes where we stayed for a while. I could hear the odd thing shaking off shelves (nothing major fortunately). It just kept on rolling. Then the earth kept shaking all night.
Radio NZ was excellent - had great non stop coverage and Suzie Ferguson and later Kim Hill came in assisted by roving reporters and public accounts from around NZ. Social media meant it was easy to check on people and earthquake details - but the reports of earthquakes across NZ were worrying and unusual. Then came the tsunami warnings, but we are up on a hill so felt sorry for those people bundling up families in the dark. Let alone those worrying about NCEA exams.
Another little shake just now. Followed by a bigger one.
We've had days of heavy rain here so suspect there are some new slips on this hill. Now a new storm is approaching.
Last night I attended a lecture by Helen Caldicott about the imminent danger of nuclear war, which was another depressing note in an intensely depressing week. I noticed that monster moon on the way home.
There has now been a 6.2 earthquake in Argentina and we are still shaking. Is it that moon?
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Speaker: A Singer Must Die - Leonard…, in reply to Russell Brown,
He sang Democracy in January 2009 in Wellington at the time of Obama's inauguration after 8 years of Bush. It was very powerful.
Perhaps more relevant now is The Partisan even though it is about the French resistance and the lyrics aren't his.
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Auckland people, this rally is tomorrow, Saturday. Please go if you can.
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Implications for disabled people, particularly the repeal of Obama Care.
http://www.vox.com/first-person/2016/11/9/13576712/trump-disability-policy-affordable-care-actBy the way, I have been puzzled about the enthusiasm of Trump supporters for repealing Obamacare, which is enabling millions more poorer Americans to access health care, as well as disability support. Today I learned why in an exchange with a Trump supporter. People are apparently being encouraged under Obamacare into third trimester abortions. So now you know.
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Seems like Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but not the electoral system, and numbers voting overall were down. So Trump was only elected by a minority of the voting public, which means they have the power to vote him out again. Particularly young voters.
I predict he will be encouraged by his minders to stick to the autocue for the near future. He will be carefully scripted.