Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross
out the wrong words
– Mark Twain
Keep calm and carry on
Advice to British people during WW2 and also on
the radio during today’s earthquakes.
16 August. 2.30pm: Just had a huge earthquake in Marlborough.
5.16pm The strength of the quake has now been upgraded from 6.2 to 6.6 followed by a 5.4 tremor minutes later. It’s the same fault as the 6.5 four weeks ago in July but not one they experts know about, it's not one of the main fault lines.
5.32pm. Another quite big shake. Followed by lots of little ones and all the
windows are rattling. Just before 6pm a 5.2 shale. Weather today: Cloudy and cool.
When it happened I was writing this blog and
dived under the table clutching my cellphone and holding onto the legs of the
table as the house rolled and jolted and trying to contact my father to see if he was OK but he wasn’t
answering, probably having a sleep. It seemed to go on and on and then there
were aftershocks. I heard a voice calling. It was my neighbour from next door
(down below), checking to see if I was OK. I crawled out from under the table and went
outside. While we were standing there the water in the swimming pool started
sloshing around though we couldn’t feel the ground moving. The following might
be a bit muddled and maybe in note form as I am quite shaken and my fingers
seem to be hitting the wrong keys. This was the strongest quake I have ever experienced.
We had lots in Papua New Guinea while I was living there but they were mild. I
am worried about my brick chimney which is close to the bedroom but it would
cost about $2000 to take it down. I’ll just keep checking for cracks and leaping
out of bed to shelter under the sturdy tables in the lounge or kitchen.
3.30pm: Still experiencing some aftershocks
from the strong earthquake (6.2?) off the coast of Seddon near Marlborough at a
depth of 8 km (shallow) in the same area as the previous 6.5 one. Even though this
was apparently smaller than the big one a couple of weeks ago it felt much bigger. It’s
the sound as it comes that is the most frightening and the cat takes off. Also there was a 4.5 jolt around
7pm last night which I didn’t feel because I was driving to a meeting. It was a
strong enough jolt, enough to spill one writer’s coffee in Blenheim (not me). There
have been a series of aftershocks between 5.5.and 5.7 since the big one at 2.30pm.
Seismicity in the North Island as well but the experts are not sure if it was
the same earthquake. The quake was felt as far away as Auckland and as far
south as Christchurch. No reports of injury. In Blenheim there are reports of a multi-storey building being evacuated, Stadium 2000, the
library and the police station and two houses in Seddon were badly damaged especially
chimneys.
SH1
is closed between Blenheim south of Ward and near Kaikoura while the bridges
are checked and there are reports of slips. People will need to go via the
Lewis Pass if they want to go South. Trains in Wellington have been stopped while
tracks are checked and the tunnels and there will be no trains out of
Wellington tonight. NZ Bus is operating as normal. Wellington University has
been closed, Rutherford house has been evacuated and there are reports of some
people trapped in lifts and hundreds of people are out on the streets in
Wellington, traffic is bumper to bumper, hardly moving as everyone is trying to
get out of town. A lot of people are walking home. It’s quicker to walk. The
stock exchange is closed. No Tsunami threat according to the news on the radio I
am so pleased that I went to the supermarket yesterday as I often go out in the
late afternoon on a Friday. Power cuts in Seddon/Ward as the sub stations have
tripped out as they do apparently in earthquakes. Some low voltage electricity lines
have snapped as poles move in different ways so people are being asked to be
aware. Some power is out in Redwood, Raupara and Cloudy Bay.Wellington
airport was closed for a while and the airport is now open after the runway has
been checked. Wellington airport website has regular updates. My other neighbour rang
as she was in the garden and could hear the ivy rustling around the big
concrete water tank on the bank above this house which was put in place by the
US marines during WW2.
The
experts say the aftershocks will continue for quite a long time, days probably,
some of them today have been magnitude 4 and 5. I haven’t seen the cat since
2.30pm. NZTA is sending tweets to people to give them information. All highways
are clogged but if one highway eases NZTA will tweet about this.Other news (written before the earthquake at 2.30pm.)
Our team did so well at the last quiz night with local knowledge and matching books with authors that we came 2nd and won a $30 voucher. Unfortunately I opted out and went to a talk at the Kaipupu Gallery about trapping pests in forests and missed out on the bottle of wine and the basket of chips even though I contributed significantly on this particular occasion! What a turnout at the pests’ talk and one presenter (from the floor) said NZ could be pest free in 20 years.
One of the writing groups I belong to, Writers of Picton, held a junior short story writing competition recently to encourage younger writers. See The Seaport Scene, 10 August for a lovely photograph on the front page and the winning stories inside near the back. More next time.
The boy band, Moorhouse, who came 4th in the X factor NZ have just signed a recording contract with Sony I’m so pleased for them as I loved their style and I am sure teenage girls will be supporting them.
National Poetry Day is today and I can’t believe Marlborough doesn’t have anything arranged. We have had Open Mic events at the libraries in previous years. I posted a comment on my Facebook page. Here’s what they did in Nelson and what we have often done in the past.
The Nelson library is organising an Open Mic event
in the library as in former years.
It will run from 12.15 to 1.30. Bring along your
favourite poems and/or your own poems.
Also the Poetry Wall will be up again in the Nelson
Library.
Horizons book launch is on 10 September at the Nelson
Museum. This is an anthology of short stories that were winners in the Page and
Blackmore Competition and 3- poems that have appeared in the Nelson Museum
window. My poem ‘Picton Perspective’ is one of the poems included. Copies of
the anthology will be available from Page and Blackmore after the launch at $20
or $15 for those attending. I was considering going but these earthquakes are unnerving.
Looking forward to a trip to Elizabeth Lissaman’s pottery studio in
the Awatere Valley next Wednesday. It’s the same day as my regular poetry group
but exciting events like this take precedence for me. In my opinion cultural
occasions like this don’t occur often enough in Marlborough though we do OK in
the performing arts area. The Combined Colleges performance of Jesus Christ Superstar was outstanding.
I went on the first night and the audience gave the cast a standing ovation. If
they hadn’t closed the curtains eventually we would still be there. Duncan
Whiting was the Director and Jeanne Mark (Marlborough Dance Centre) did the
choreography. These events are very well supported in Marlborough with most
nights being almost booked out and the last two nights were Sold Out.
Dickens
in Love, Robert Garnett
The Yes
No Book How to do less ... and achieve more, Mike
Clayton (the NO part has already worked for me. 0ffer a little help but
don’t overload yourself).
Film:
The Red House (set on Waiheke Island and in Beijing, very interesting, sub titles)
