RDU are working to publish details for the March edition:
From Christchurch Earthquake News Conference on TV3 Tuesday 22 February 4.30pm from the bunker under the Beehive:
1 Deputy PM Bill English:
- Caused huge damage, serious injuries & loss of life [but they haven’t quantified how many yet]
- Emergency services & government services had communication difficulties which are gradually being restored
- Mayor of Chch Bob Parker declared state of civil emergency
- Evacuating Chch CBD
- 2 urban Search & Rescue teams from New Plymouth & Auckland are flying in to assist Chch S&R [to get survivors out as quickly as possible]
- Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered further S&R personnel
- Offers of international personnel where relevant expertise to find people in collapsed buildings
- Police mobilised their disaster relief team
- Chch Hospital has reopened with minimal damage
- Ambulances from around South Island heading to Chch & hospitals clearing non emergencies so can take injured
- Power companies working on getting power back on
- Phone lines operational but significant overloading because of level of anxiety - only make emergency calls - use texting where possible
- Government is gearing up for something bigger than the first September earthquake
2 Minister of Civil Defence John Carter:
- Civil Defence Centre in Chch – City Council building damaged
- Agencies working together - Police, Army, welfare & health
- Continuous series of aftershocks are expected
- Support family, friends & neighbours
TV3 ongoing live news updates all afternoon presented by Hillary Barry:
- Utter devastation around Chch CBD & its suburbs & Lyttleton cut off & Brighton has been called unliveable
- There have been multiple fatalities, scores of people seriously injured & people are still trapped in high rises, on rooves & under rubble
- NZ Government has accepted international Search & Rescue officials help - hope it will be a search & rescue, not a search & recovery operation [but they have confirmed some deaths]
- Lyttleton was the epicentre of the 5km deep earthquake (which has caused so much more devastation compared the Darfield September quake near Christchurch was 33kms deep)
- Some Chch city multi storey buildings have collapsed – Chch Press building severely damaged & Canterbury TV completely destroyed & is on fire - one side of the iconic cathedral has collapsed
- It is as if a bomb has gone off with floors collapsing onto one another
- There has been extensive damage to central city hotels
- Gas lines ruptured & caused fires – helicopters are filling monsoon buckets from Avon River
- 111 emergency phone number is operational again
- It’s much more significant that last year’s major earthquake
- Plea for blood donations nationwide through NZ Blood Service
Yahoo Xtra website:
- 6.3 magnitude quake & subsequent aftershocks in Chch
- Reports of hundreds trapped in buildings
- Defence Force staff deployed in Chch
- Extra ambulances are en route
Our thoughts are with Christchurch Rotarians & their families at this challenging time.
Please make donations to the Rotary New Zealand Christchurch/CanterburyEarthquake Appeal via Rotary New Zealand World Community Service www.rnzwcs.org for timely & effective emergency response. Donations are tax deductible, & 100% of your donations will to the go to the earthquake appeal.
