On February 22, 2011, at 12:51pm (NZST), a 6.3 magnitude quake hit. The epicentre was only 10 km (6 miles) from the centre of Christchurch and at a depth of 5 km (3.1 miles). The residents of Christchurch had been living with aftershocks from a 7.1 quake that occurred 6 months prior. While the quake was not as strong as the September quake, the surface effect forces were far greater. The simultaneous vertical and horizontal ground movement was near impossible for buildings to survive. An already quake-crippled city was decimated.
Much of Christchurch is still recovering from those quakes 5 years ago, and the recent 5.7 magnitude that we had just over a week ago is not helping. But the community has become stronger.
"Earthquakes happen because of salamis" (Photo: NZ Civil Defence)
On this day, the 5th anniversary, I thought a fitting way to remember what happened would be to look at reasons why we have earthquakes, but not the scientific reasons. Instead, it's the reasons that come from the youngest members of our community that deserve to be heard.
Back in June 2012, the Civil Defence had release a video where they interviewed a group of children as to why we have earthquakes. Their explanations were priceless.
Monsters underground stomping and the ground shakes. Monsters with sharp teeth.
Earth and one of those planets in the solar system rub together and it makes the ground move.
Quakes are caused by salamis.
However, the real message that everyone could take away from the children was what one should do in an earthquake: Drop; Cover; Hold.
The Civil Defence ad can be found below. (EDITED: This video was removed from YouTube, and I have not been able to find the new link.)
This post is the final post in my "Share Your Stories" series (at least for the moment as I recover from the emotional roller-coaster). A big thank-you to everyone who participated over the last two weeks. If you haven't already read through them all, below is a link to the full list.