The earthquake's back

We had a lovely relaxing December and a glorious calm Christmas Day. Swimming, barbecue, relaxation, calls to family elsewhere around the world -- it was great.

On Boxing Day in the early hours of the morning we had a very big aftershock. Then at 8am we had another. Then at 10.30am we had a 4.9, shallow and located right under the city and therefore both frightening and damaging. People are freaked out and lots more buildings are cracked or otherwise damaged, but thank God nobody was killed (despite bricks raining down around tourists in Cathedral Square), and the infrastructure is fine.

Here are some photos from today. Lots of damage high up on buildings, cracked parapets and fallen bricks.

(Note: the street in the first photo was already damaged before Boxing Day, but not as badly as this.)

What will this weekend bring?

This weekend will be the three-month anniversary of the earthquake. We had big shakes on the one-month and two-month anniversaries. I wonder what December 4th will bring! It has been really quiet over the last couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean there aren't more big aftershocks just gearing up to give us a wobble. The North Island got a couple of good-sized earthquakes a few days ago, but they get earthquakes quite regularly and nobody seemed to bothered. I do wonder if something down here triggered something up there.

One other thing this weekend will bring is the third anniversary of our arrival in New Zealand. It's hard to believe that it has been three years already. We've had our ups and downs, and we miss family and friends and Ireland, but still: no regrets. Moving here has been a wonderful experience overall, and I hope it continues to be one.