All shook up!

 

That was quite some news I woke up to this morning. The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the sunlight shining on my window, which was a pleasant surprise after the horrible weather that arrived last night, with thunder and lightning, even hail! But you know what they say: After rain comes sun…

But the stark contrast between the sunny weather in Wellington and what actually goes on out there was pointed out to me the second I went on facebook and noticed several mentionings of an earthquake by my friends in the South Island. So I went to Stuff.co.nz to see what it was all about. I instantly found that there had been a major earthquake at 4.35 am right outside of Christchurch, magnitude 7.1 (initial reports said 7.4, but it was later downgraded). Several buildings were destroyed, and roads, power lines, sewage systems, water pipes etc suffered severe damage in many parts of the region. Luckily no deaths had been reported. The quake was strong enough to be felt over most parts of the South Island, and reports also claim that it was felt by some as far north as Wellington and Palmerston North. Personally, I don’t think I felt anything, although I did have a very uneasy sleep and woke up several times during the night. One of those times it may have been due to the earthquake, but I don’t know. If you’re interested in seeing photos of the destruction, this is a good site: Quake photos – they are constantly updated, as well.

 

I was supposed to spend as much time as possible today writing a philosophy essay which is due in next Friday, so that I can go out tonight feeling that I’ve done something productive, but I’ve just wasted away 4 hours keeping up to date with what’s happening down in the South Island, instead. The fact that it’s a beautiful day in Wellington doesn’t make it any easier to stay inside, either. I actually turned my desk away from the window so I won’t have to look at the perfect, blue sky while I’m trying to study… Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

I’m craving lollies/chips/chocolate. And I don’t have any. Aaaaah.