New Zealand friends???

[Buck Beach]

I understand there was major damage and multiple deaths in Christ Church as a result of a 6.3 earthquake.[:(]

[Fallschirmjager]

I am worried about DivePac88 he is without a laptop due to a hardware failure. I know he lives in the mountains on the south island.
I really hope he and his family are ok

[noguaranteeofsanity]

From the live tv pictures on the news here, it looks very, very bad.  The quake struck at lunchtime on a week day and entire office buildings have pancaked or literally toppled over, with at least 65 deaths so far.  The phone lines are all down and they have been advising people to text, rather than call, to avoid overloading the cell towers.

My sympathies and condolences to the people of Christchurch and New Zealand.

[Buck Beach]

FYI, I just got this from the owner of the Miramar ship site:

Hi Buck,
Nothing here in Wellington, we've been lucky again.
Bad in Christchurch. 6.3 Riochter Scale, only 5km  deep and damage is very bad. 65 dead so far, many more trapped. The quake was centred near the port of Lyttelton, and other than a comment that "Lyttelton is not livable anymore" we don't know anything yet. All the casualties so far are in the centre of Christchurch city.

I have US cousins living in Orange County and they tell me stories of very shaky times.

Thanks for the good wishes,

[JeffroK]

As far as I know Azpretzo & Divepac88 live in Christchurch, Azpretzo had minor damage in the Sept quake.

Watching the News now, looks like the CBD copped it bad, as mentioned 65 confirmed casualties, and many missing.

Looks like my holiday next week is on hold.

[Fallschirmjager]

Wow I get news pushes on my phone and I was altered when the quake happened. 42 minutes after the quake I got a message saying that a US Navy Pacific fleet had already sent ships.
Now that is some rapid response time!


Hopefully some of the experience a year ago in Hati will help rescue some of the trapped.

[Fallschirmjager]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

As far as I know Azpretzo & Divepac88 live in Christchurch, Azpretzo had minor damage in the Sept quake.

Hopefully he does not mind me revealing his location. But DP told me he lives in a 'resort town in the mountains' on the south island. Beyond that I don't know. Hopefully he was away from the epicenter.
He did however tell me that his town had some minor clean up from the Sept quake. So who knows.

[JeffroK]

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Wow I get news pushes on my phone and I was altered when the quake happened. 42 minutes after the quake I got a message saying that a US Navy Pacific fleet had already sent ships.
Now that is some rapid response time!


Hopefully some of the experience a year ago in Hati will help rescue some of the trapped.

Enzeds wont let the USN arrive unless they sign off they are Nuclear free, maybe.

[Fallschirmjager]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Wow I get news pushes on my phone and I was altered when the quake happened. 42 minutes after the quake I got a message saying that a US Navy Pacific fleet had already sent ships.
Now that is some rapid response time!


Hopefully some of the experience a year ago in Hati will help rescue some of the trapped.

Enzeds wont let the USN arrive unless they sign off they are Nuclear free, maybe.

I am pretty sure it is probably just transports. I am not expert but I think the USN has relief ships all around the world. I doubt any warships would respond.
I know for the Haiti earthquake they had food, medicine, doctors and Marines on the ground in less than 24 hours. I also read that as part of the Haiti earthquake the USN has a lot of 'earthquake' experts now who know how to stabilize buildings and do repair work as well as rescue those trapped in rubble.
I really don't like our giant defense budget or world spanning empire. But one of the good side effects is that we can provide relief to just about anywhere on planet Earth in less than 24 hours.

[LoBaron]

Heard it just now!

Hey I hope all of you guys in the Christchurch area are ok!!!

Good luck over there, I wish I could do something to help. [:(]

[noguaranteeofsanity]

ORIGINAL: JeffK

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Wow I get news pushes on my phone and I was altered when the quake happened. 42 minutes after the quake I got a message saying that a US Navy Pacific fleet had already sent ships.
Now that is some rapid response time!


Hopefully some of the experience a year ago in Hati will help rescue some of the trapped.

Enzeds wont let the USN arrive unless they sign off they are Nuclear free, maybe.

Relations between the US and NZ have actually improved a lot in recent times, just before Christmas they signed a new defence co-operation pact, called the Wellington Agreement. While I doubt it would be much of an issue in circumstances such as these, especially as the amphibious assault ships are conventionally powered and their helicopters far more useful, than a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and its complement of jet aircraft.

[stuman]

Very sorry to hear this.

[Maglio]

So far no Tsunami warning on the other shore of the Pacific!

I just want to express my solidarity and understanding, since we in Chile suffered equally almost a year ago.

Best wishes to all who are suffering and tryng to cope with this situation.

[Chickenboy]

Here's hoping our NZ friends (and their families) are safe. Sorry to hear the news.

[michaelm75au]

The Southern Pacific zone of which contain Australia and NZ seem to be experiencing some hard times lately from nature.

I have to admit that, in general, we have been spared major calamities and the ones we have had in the past tend to be spaced out a bit in time.

However, over the last few months we have tended to have one natural calamity after another - floods, bush fires, cyclones - almost right across the country with our northern areas still getting the brunt of it.

[Oldguard1970]

Hi guys,

Please note that CV's are small cities. They bring power, water, food, hospitals, medical staff, engineers AND helicopters. They are remarkably useful in responding to natural disasters.

I add my wishes and prayers for the good people of NZ.

ORIGINAL: noguaranteeofsanity

ORIGINAL: JeffK

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Wow I get news pushes on my phone and I was altered when the quake happened. 42 minutes after the quake I got a message saying that a US Navy Pacific fleet had already sent ships.
Now that is some rapid response time!


Hopefully some of the experience a year ago in Hati will help rescue some of the trapped.

Enzeds wont let the USN arrive unless they sign off they are Nuclear free, maybe.

Relations between the US and NZ have actually improved a lot in recent times, just before Christmas they signed a new defence co-operation pact, called the Wellington Agreement. While I doubt it would be much of an issue in circumstances such as these, especially as the amphibious assault ships are conventionally powered and their helicopters far more useful, than a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and its complement of jet aircraft.

[sdhundt]

Go U.S. Navy, for all the crap people call us we ALWAYS help ANYONE that needs it.

[LST Express]

Hoping everything turns out well for guys down there.

[Canoerebel]

Divepac just started an AAR in the WitE forums, so he must be fine. Hope the same is true for Wobbly and his family.

The best to all our friends and comrades in New Zealand.

[Nikademus]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.