State of Emergency

There has been another devastating earthquake in Christchurch that was worse that the big one last September. Today's earthquake occurred at lunchtime when the city was at its busiest. There have multiple fatalities and many people injured. Buildings have collapsed and people are still trapped in the rubble.

Although the magnitude was 6.3, less than the September quake's 7.1, it was much closer and shallower. Frequent aftershocks, two of them a magnitude of 5 or more, have continued all afternoon, making rescue operations very difficult and dangerous.

My daughter, FirehorseMia is all right, but the inside of her house has been trashed again, and she has liquefaction rising and falling in her yard. My niece who also lives in the city, is having a nervous breakdown, but the streets are closed and she can't be reached. I'm sure this will be a problem for a lot of people whose nerves are already frayed by the more than 4000 aftershocks they have experienced in the last five months.

I am fine. It was fairly shaky here, but nothing like what it was in Christchurch. Thank you to the blippers who have enquired.

Edit update: At least 65 deaths have been confirmed, more are expected. This is so terrible.

My shot has nothing to do with this awful event. It is a clever spider I found this morning in a Japanese anemone flower. She had pulled a couple of petals over and held them with webbing to shelter her from the light rain. I have not been able to positively identify her, but the green colour leads me to suspect that she is a native orb web spider.

Best seen large.