So sad for the city I was born in

I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. Went to school, University and Teachers' College there. Married, divorced and married again. My two children were born there.

Cathedral Square, Christchurch NZ

 

 I was never particularly fond of the city - didn't like the climate, the atmosphere, or the prospects; I was very happy to move northwards into warmer parts of the country, first to Wellington and then to the Bay of Plenty. But I have many happy memories of people and places there, and there are still many family members there.


On September 4 last year the city suffered the most destructive earthquakequake to hit New Zealand in 80 years when a 7.0-magnitude tremor damaged 100,000 homes, leaving a clean-up bill estimated at NZ$4.0 billion dollars (US$3.0 billion).
The city remained under a state of emergency for weeks with police cordoning off the centre for fear of collapsing buildings, as thousands of aftershocks hit the region. The only good thing was that no deaths or serious injuries occurred.

Today, however, another major quake happened - only 6.3 but very shallow (5kms), and only a few kilometers from the central city. This time it is a major disaster, with people calling the city "irreparable".

Many people are trapped inside what was a five-storey building.

What really brings it home to me, and makes me feel like crying, is seeing that the spire of the Cathedral has fallen. This building was the central point of the city (see top picture) and as a school and university student I walked past it every day, often several times.

I feel shocked, numb, grieving. I cannot begin to imagine what the people of my home town are going through.