Look Closely.

Every day is different. The water leaks I mentioned yesterday are fewer, more houses are getting power (although still 22 000 without tonight) roads are being repaired, the liquefied sand is being removed (120 00 tonnes so far). The city is alive, chaotic, and gradually coming back to "normal". But normal is going to be very different.

Estimates suggest two thirds of the inner city will have to be demolished, 50 000 workers are displaced, and as you can imagine, commercial space is limited, or non-existent. There are going to be a lot of business and people hurting very badly due to loss of trade and jobs. We were unlucky last time and I had the worst week of my life. This one has been way worse for so many, but for us it's been OK. It?s funny how life is, I am oh so thankful this time.

We had some good news yesterday, our old (soon to be new) landlord is honouring the deal we made, despite the lease not being signed. He has been offered $200/m MORE for the space we're due to move into, yet has kept his word. That's over $120 000 MORE per year. A business man with integrity. Respect. We we're supposed to sign the lease today, tomorrow now.

Our friends who came over last night have also been lucky, they found a house to rent today - whew! Now they have a place to live while they demolish/rebuild the house they own. Like commercial space, with hundreds if not thousands of houses now uninhabitable, every possible space is being snapped up very quickly.

So, the photo. This is the central city, close up. It already looks different to what it did several weeks ago and the haze is real, that's the liquefied sand being thrown up as dust. It's all polluted with sewage, so it's not that healthy. But look at the building second from the right. Look unusual (view it in large)? Yep, it's the Hotel Grand Chancellor and it's keeling over. And there are a few more like it.

The central city is cordoned off, and is likely to be so for months. When we next go in there, you won't have to look very closely. There probably won't be too much there.

That may seem disastrous, but to be honest many people are saying it's a great opportunity to start again. Let's build a modern green city, one we can all be proud of, just in a different way.