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Currently in Wellington. Was fucking shaky, seriously thought the building was about to collapse. This was ~500 km from the epicenter. We were evacuated and le

Currently in Wellington. Was fucking shaky, seriously thought the building was about to collapse. This was ~500 km from the epicenter. We were evacuated and let back in. All the planning in the world doesn't prepare you for the real thing, the first thing you're meant to do is keep calm, and I sure as hell didn't. I sprinted right the fuck out of my apartment building, I have 4 levels above me, hiding under a table wasn't going to do shit to save me. The building has some cracks in the plaster and food has fallen off all the shelves, but nothing serious. The water seems to be running a bit brown though, so maybe some damage to the water pipes. Props to the crew at Bizdojo (http://www.bizdojo.com/ http://www.bizdojo.com/) for opening an invitation for us to come and chill there if we couldn't get back into our homes. Doing the right thing there!

brassic 10y ago
Water pipes often accumulate a layer of sediment at the bottom. Anything that stirs it up will cause brief discolouration of the water. Your pipes may be fine. (That said, I wouldn't drink the water right now.)
- zoltrain 10y ago
  I'm pretty sure Civil Defence announced it's been contaminated. I would get bottled water, and get away from the coast if you're anywhere near there, or get to high ground. If you have no other option, go to a building with reinforced concrete that's high such as a parking lot. The Tsunami warning is issued to as far as wellington, and all of the cook straight.
  - rabboRubble 10y ago
    If you are getting bottled water after an earthquake, you are already f*cked. Have water on hand beforehand! It's not like bottles of water aren't for sale everywhere.
    - dmoy 10y ago
      Or, if you live near massive amounts of fresh water, stock up on high grade water filters, and have buckets or many bottles.
    - frio 10y ago
      Yes, absolutely agreed. Last night's quake exposed my flat's somewhat chronic lack of preparation. I'll be visiting the supermarket tonight and ensuring our insurance policies are up to date, as I imagine much of Chch will be. We've got a small collection of life straws/survival supplies for tramping, which is good, but they're in a part of the house that'd be inaccessible in a major event :/.
      - rabboRubble 10y ago
        Stay safe and good luck.
- hinkley 10y ago
  You get the same thing if the Fire Department uses the hydrants, for real or just to test the system. The usual advice is to boil the water if there is any doubt. For sediment, a coffee filter first wouldn't be a terrible idea. Edit to add: immediately after an event, if you have a tank water heater, the water in the tank was already there. If you shut off the intake valve and turn off the heater, you have enough drinking water to last for a couple of weeks. Assuming you can get a container under the drain valve on the side. Triple check you have turned off the furnace before draining any significant amount water!
EdwardDiego 10y ago
Given what ChCh went through, I really hope Wellington takes quake-proofing its more risk-prone buildings seriously. I say that every time an earthquake causes damage there, but still the building owners ask for more time and the council gives it.
- disordinary 10y ago
  Yeah Wellington has always taken it seriously, I remember the building where I worked in 2002 had a sticker on it by the council saying the building wasn't earthquake safe. The buildings here are much more earthquake safe than Christchurch but also the damage potential is much higher.
  - Pulce 10y ago
    Great. Do you have a pic of the sticker? I'm moving to Umbria, Italy...
    - disordinary 10y ago
      No, it was a while ago. But a google image search showed up one of the ones that they used in Christchurch. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ncu7cINaZiE/TtGHnDoH72I/AAAAAAAAASY/gW0WALky3-M/s1600/Red%2BSticker.JPG http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ncu7cINaZiE/TtGHnDoH72I/AAAAAAAAAS...
      - Pulce 10y ago
        Thanks.
    - jamiepenney 10y ago
      http://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news/18382/eight_col_xlarge_2V9A5038-Edit.jpg?1402880813 http://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news/18382/eight_col_xlarge_... That's the yellow sticker that buildings in Wellington get if they're unsafe but still usable.
  - rodgerd 10y ago
avar 10y ago
> I have 4 levels above me, hiding under a table > wasn't going to do shit to save me [...] food > has fallen off all the shelves, The advice to hide under tables isn't meant to save you from the entire building collapsing, but from injuries sustained from stuff falling off shelves & the non-structural parts of your roof collapsing.
- idlewords 10y ago
  "You're doing it wrong," only for earthquakes.
- enraged_camel 10y ago
  Also, some tables, particularly heavy wooden and metal tables, can withstand lots and lots of weight. Hiding under them can help you avoid getting your skull bashed in by a falling slab of concrete.
  - wiredfool 10y ago
    The one biggish one I went through was in Seattle, where I was in a startup. We had cheap IKEA desks, which barely held the computers. I bolted for the door, which was the wrong thing to do in a brick clad building. Thankfully, we were on solid ground on Capitol Hill, not the fill in Pioneer Square, so I didn't get hit by falling cornice.
cconcepts 10y ago
You're 500km north of epicentre and felt that. Im 150km south of epicentre and felt nothing.
- jaredtobin 10y ago
  We even felt it up in Auckland. It woke my partner and I up and made the building creak and flex a bit.
- antod 10y ago
  Wellington isn't 500km away :) It looks like the quoted epicentre was just the start point of the rupture that headed off to the northeast. Which explains why the shaking seemed worse to the north and why so much activity seems to be recorded from the Seddon area again: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#map http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#... In Wellington it seemed like the first half was just a gentle swaying before it really kicked in for the second half. That was probably the rupture moving closer. I found this really interesting: The USGS talks about quakes of this magnitude usually have a wide scale area of slippage eg they've modelled 200x60 km for this one: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#executive http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#... http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#shakemap http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#...
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
antod 10y ago
Currently in Wellington. Was fucking shaky, seriously thought the building was about to collapse. This was ~500 km from the epicenter. ~200km? Also in Wellington, and it's work from home day today here while engineers check the building for damage.
greggman 10y ago
Advice in Japan is stay inside. They claim running outside during an earthquake your more likely to get hit by falling glass and other debris

brassic 10y ago

Water pipes often accumulate a layer of sediment at the bottom. Anything that stirs it up will cause brief discolouration of the water. Your pipes may be fine. (That said, I wouldn't drink the water right now.)

zoltrain 10y ago
I'm pretty sure Civil Defence announced it's been contaminated. I would get bottled water, and get away from the coast if you're anywhere near there, or get to high ground. If you have no other option, go to a building with reinforced concrete that's high such as a parking lot. The Tsunami warning is issued to as far as wellington, and all of the cook straight.
- rabboRubble 10y ago
  If you are getting bottled water after an earthquake, you are already f*cked. Have water on hand beforehand! It's not like bottles of water aren't for sale everywhere.
  - dmoy 10y ago
    Or, if you live near massive amounts of fresh water, stock up on high grade water filters, and have buckets or many bottles.
  - frio 10y ago
    Yes, absolutely agreed. Last night's quake exposed my flat's somewhat chronic lack of preparation. I'll be visiting the supermarket tonight and ensuring our insurance policies are up to date, as I imagine much of Chch will be. We've got a small collection of life straws/survival supplies for tramping, which is good, but they're in a part of the house that'd be inaccessible in a major event :/.
    - rabboRubble 10y ago
      Stay safe and good luck.
hinkley 10y ago
You get the same thing if the Fire Department uses the hydrants, for real or just to test the system. The usual advice is to boil the water if there is any doubt. For sediment, a coffee filter first wouldn't be a terrible idea. Edit to add: immediately after an event, if you have a tank water heater, the water in the tank was already there. If you shut off the intake valve and turn off the heater, you have enough drinking water to last for a couple of weeks. Assuming you can get a container under the drain valve on the side. Triple check you have turned off the furnace before draining any significant amount water!

EdwardDiego 10y ago

Given what ChCh went through, I really hope Wellington takes quake-proofing its more risk-prone buildings seriously. I say that every time an earthquake causes damage there, but still the building owners ask for more time and the council gives it.

disordinary 10y ago
Yeah Wellington has always taken it seriously, I remember the building where I worked in 2002 had a sticker on it by the council saying the building wasn't earthquake safe. The buildings here are much more earthquake safe than Christchurch but also the damage potential is much higher.
- Pulce 10y ago
  Great. Do you have a pic of the sticker? I'm moving to Umbria, Italy...
  - disordinary 10y ago
    No, it was a while ago. But a google image search showed up one of the ones that they used in Christchurch. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ncu7cINaZiE/TtGHnDoH72I/AAAAAAAAASY/gW0WALky3-M/s1600/Red%2BSticker.JPG http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ncu7cINaZiE/TtGHnDoH72I/AAAAAAAAAS...
    - Pulce 10y ago
      Thanks.
  - jamiepenney 10y ago
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news/18382/eight_col_xlarge_2V9A5038-Edit.jpg?1402880813 http://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news/18382/eight_col_xlarge_... That's the yellow sticker that buildings in Wellington get if they're unsafe but still usable.
- rodgerd 10y ago

avar 10y ago

> I have 4 levels above me, hiding under a table > wasn't going to do shit to save me [...] food > has fallen off all the shelves, The advice to hide under tables isn't meant to save you from the entire building collapsing, but from injuries sustained from stuff falling off shelves & the non-structural parts of your roof collapsing.

idlewords 10y ago
"You're doing it wrong," only for earthquakes.
enraged_camel 10y ago
Also, some tables, particularly heavy wooden and metal tables, can withstand lots and lots of weight. Hiding under them can help you avoid getting your skull bashed in by a falling slab of concrete.
- wiredfool 10y ago
  The one biggish one I went through was in Seattle, where I was in a startup. We had cheap IKEA desks, which barely held the computers. I bolted for the door, which was the wrong thing to do in a brick clad building. Thankfully, we were on solid ground on Capitol Hill, not the fill in Pioneer Square, so I didn't get hit by falling cornice.

cconcepts 10y ago

You're 500km north of epicentre and felt that. Im 150km south of epicentre and felt nothing.

jaredtobin 10y ago
We even felt it up in Auckland. It woke my partner and I up and made the building creak and flex a bit.
antod 10y ago
Wellington isn't 500km away :) It looks like the quoted epicentre was just the start point of the rupture that headed off to the northeast. Which explains why the shaking seemed worse to the north and why so much activity seems to be recorded from the Seddon area again: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#map http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#... In Wellington it seemed like the first half was just a gentle swaying before it really kicked in for the second half. That was probably the rupture moving closer. I found this really interesting: The USGS talks about quakes of this magnitude usually have a wide scale area of slippage eg they've modelled 200x60 km for this one: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#executive http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#... http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#shakemap http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us1000778i#...

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

antod 10y ago

Currently in Wellington. Was fucking shaky, seriously thought the building was about to collapse. This was ~500 km from the epicenter. ~200km? Also in Wellington, and it's work from home day today here while engineers check the building for damage.

greggman 10y ago

Advice in Japan is stay inside. They claim running outside during an earthquake your more likely to get hit by falling glass and other debris