Some of you know my GF lives in New Zealand,

and is a native Kiwi. Most of you likely don't know she also lives in Christchurch.

I've been worried sick ever since I read about the quake last night, losing sleep and then being rather unproductive at work today (not to mention late for work, due to losing sleep.) I got hold of her step-dad this evening by email, and learned that she was at home (a tiny rental house somewhat northeast of the worst-hit areas) and txted when the quake hit. I'll let Syd tell it, at least partially:

(Pearl is her cat, so she'll be upset by her running off, too.)

He said he'd write me when he learned more, and I'll certainly post here (and one other place on DU) when I know more, too. At the very least, I know she was away from the worst to hit ChristChurch and is likely okay. She said when the first quake hit last September, her little house only just shook a bit. I know this one was worse in motion but am confident that her house is just too small to have been damaged much at all. I've seen the pictures; it's not very big! :7


Here's her picture for those that haven't seen her before:





I just thought I'd let y'all know what's going on. Vibes are certainly welcome, though I'd say send them to her and her cat. I should be okay. Mostly :)

I'm sure she will be OK.

but I know she's probably very upset and traumatized all over again. She was also getting ready to move out of Christchurch within the week. I hope she still can. Once she gets back in touch, we'll talk about that, too.

Thanks, too, by the way :hug:
I need to get to bed before I'm up all night looking at photos, videos and accounts of it all...

:hug:

I had better git to bed now or I'll be stuck here all night long ;)

Major vibes for her safety, and her cat too...

I would be absolutely useless if someone I loved far away were in trouble...

Do let us know when you hear from her!

How awful to be so very helpless...

:hug:

and that's not directly to me. I'll text her again soon, see if I can get her to reply, but I know the phone networks there are overburdened right now. One comment I heard on NZ Radio was that Vodafone lost eight of their ten towers! I don't know the name of the other company there, but they had less damage to their network.

I'll be sure to post whatever I learn. And yeah, it is frustrating not hearing anything... :hug:

...go here:
http://christchurch-2011.person-finder.appspot.com/
Seems to be quite useful.

Fingers crossed you find her ok - let me if there's anything I can do from down here...

and got no results. Still, it's a great tool for anyone that has loved ones there or even just someone you know. I'll be keeping that one bookmarked :)

You're already doing a lot for them, if indirectly, like through your nation's military and other SAR teams. Plus, Australia's sent a lot of help, and now Los Angeles has sent their top SAR team, too. Teams have already found some survivors in the cathedral where they figured all were lost.

I have a friend in Christchurch who turned out to be in a part of town not hit by the quake, but we didn't hear back from him until this afternoon, and today was pretty unpleasant as a result.

You never know why they might not try to contact anyone, either. With the intermittent and overloaded phone networks, any contact is still unreliable. Power isn't on everywhere, liquefaction has caused plenty of infrastructure damage and so on. The roads are a mess and I thought I'd heard in one interview that they were trying to restrict traffic as much as possible.

It's still going to take a while to fix everything, but there are some things working, like payphones in certain areas and ATMs :)

Keep us posted.

She has a dog, too, but she hasn't been a problem, this time or the last. Her cat ran off the first time, too, and it was days before she showed up again. It will likely be next week before Maryanne can even think of getting out of there, due to road closures and all.

And here's something for you.





http://www.bigbluetree.com/item.cfm?id=59&ptype=10&start_row=1


:hi:

I'd get her out of there in nothin' flat!
I don't think anyone would raise an eyebrow at seeing one, either ;)

I'll let you and everyone else know when I do hear from her, directly or not :hi:

And cats seem to know when to hide, but not so much when to come out, so also believing Pearl is fine.

especially the not coming out part ;)

Thanks for the vibes for them, too. Hopefully, I'll get a report, if not tonight, then tomorrow.

:hug:

I was laughing at one of your posts last night, can't remember which one, but it was good to laugh :D

Glad I helped in a small way. Please let us know as soon as you hear from her.

I also thank you for that wonderful news source, the Guardian, in keeping me informed during all this :)

Still sending good vibes for her and NZKitteh...

:hug:

I was listening to Doreen Virtue's show today on HHRadio and she started the show about all the "active" energy going on right now. I'm sure she meant for all the unrest as well as NZ, since that's a favorite part of the world for her. She's also a favorite of Maryanne's, so I kept her in my thoughts during the show, trying to 'channel' some of that energy her way, too...

Hang in there. :hug:

:hug:

Today was better, having at least heard something. I'll see what else I can find out tonight...

she looks like a lovely person.


Good vibes and thoughts to all the folks down there.

I'll have to get her to post on here sometime again :)

And they do all need our thoughts and vibes, too. I'm also thinking about all the pets of everyone now. I haven't read any stories on them so far, but I'm sure we'll start seeing all the ones of pets saving people's lives or finding them under rubble and getting them discovered in time. The rescue teams are starting to go into the neighborhoods, so we may even see some pet rescues, too :)

:grouphug:

:hug:

I'm glad I posted here because it's made me feel better, even as I still don't know much :)

I'll help y'all feel better too when I learn more. Expect this to float to the top every now and then...

And good, calming vibes to you while you wait. And to the rest of NZ too.

I've had to just kind of put it out of my mind this evening, because it is all about waiting. I sent her another txt, but no reply yet. I seem to remember it was kind of like this last September, so it may be the weekend before I hear back. She's just got to calm down more, or Pearl needs to find her way back home, too, and then I and her parents will hear.

So, I watched Inside the Actors Studio with the voice-actors of Family Guy, and two biography channel shows back to back on Caddyshack and Animal House :D

How nerve-wracking for you! Please let us know as soon as you hear anything.

Since I can't seem to get through by normal means, I'll just have to send my messages by vibes, and do a little meditating here. Like now.

Thank you all for your support, too. I will post when I hear something :hi:

So stressful.

I'm kind of the opposite to Maryanne when it comes to trying to remain in contact during an emergency. I was on my cell nonstop to her and my past-wife during Hurricane Ike two years ago. That helped keep me calm, even with one big gust that gave me a small taste of building-moving earthquake motions. Two different kinds of events, of course, but with somewhat similar aftermaths. You just have to resign yourself that you really can't do anything about it and let the high emotions go, or you will remain stressed out for days.

I know that communication lines are down, and I would console myself with that too. I know you will let us know as soon as you know. :grouphug:

Please keep us updated. I'm lighting a candle for Pearl and her human! :hug: :loveya:

I just posted the news, though it's only the human at this point that's safe (that I know of; parents are going to be more relieved at the safety of their child than a pet ;))

Sending safety, protection, and safe return of her kitty, Pearl. :hug:

I'm hoping it was just an oversight of her step-dad for not mentioning Pearl in his email to me tonight. I'm sure Pearl will return if she hasn't already. She always does, eventually :D

the closet with him to hide. Once I closed the windows, and the air pressure went back to normal, he was fine. Cats are amazing critters. I'm sure her cat knew not to be indoors at this time. It'll come back once the danger has passed.

I was a complete (emotional) wreck when Hurricane Ike roared through here over two years ago. I think my cat slept through most of it

Maryanne's cat injured her leg a couple of months ago and ran away to hide yet again. It took her two days just to find where she thought Pearl was hiding (under the deck) and then it was another day or two before the cat ventured out, looking for food and water. She limped for a week or two after that, but stuck around. So, she's still pretty attached to her human and likely to return. Still, it's great to have y'all's vibes, prayers, thoughts, and friendship :hug:

Her step-dad emailed me this evening to say that she had contacted them, but had to use a neighbor's phone because there was a "toll bar" on hers. I guess that means she needs to add some money to it. She had also sent a txt to him and (I think) one of her brothers, but it didn't go through. She said she's still going to move by the end of the month, so that's another good bit to know.

She'll probably txt me back to my several once she gets her phone working again. And when that happens, I'll let y'all know again.

Thank you, one and all, for being here for us :hug:

How hard it is when our loved ones are in danger, and so damned far away...

I hope for good news on Pearl too...

:hug:

And when I know more I'll post again. So far no more emails and no txts, but Syd usually only emails at night, or night for me, mid-afternoon tomorrow for them ;)

The relief is palpable, too. I've had a much more productive day today than past days this week.

I know you are vastly relieved. Keeping up vibes for Pearl.

That is, I finally got a text from her today that all pets are fine and home and she's still on schedule for leaving Christchurch on Monday. Which would be tomorrow about noon to us ;)

I would suspect the worst roads are closed off, so she'll be able to navigate out of the city and 'get away'. It's not been a good city for her to live in, so she'll be letting out a hugh sigh of relief at leaving it. Once she's settled back in the north island I'm sure I'll learn more about her experience through this last quake and its effect on her.

Thanks for all the vibes, too :D
I'll txt her and let her know I started this thread and how everyone came together for her and her cat :)

:grouphug: