Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
AND WE FELT THE EARTH MOVE !
An earth moving experience (in answer to Clive’s request) or : a holiday experience in New-Zealand.
We were approaching a pine wood to exit Waikanee beach, walking slightly ahead of our small group, when my host, Philip, suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders, looked straight into my eyes and said : «dont move, keep still...» I just had time to adjust to my surroundings, thinking «what the hell is going on ? /what have I done ?» nearly expecting a Maori warrior to attack me from behind (as we had just been remeniscing about the local distant past...) Then I heard a shout : EARTHQUAKE !!! Hell, I was suddenly standing and walking on jelly !... An intense calm invaded me and I thought «that’s it... so let’s go and stand by my other half. We will go down holding hands...»
In search of reassurance, we all looked at each other, focused, calm and pale. After about 30 seconds, the earth turbulence stopped but we could still feel a lot of grumbling under our feet. Then, we observed the sea : could there be a tsunami ? Philip reassured us : not possible, it would be stopped by an island in front of us.
At the same time, a young mother who had been crossing the pine wood with her child reached our group. The little boy’s ice cream had been knocked down by the «push». He was distressed. On realising what had happened, she started crying.
Another man, coming from the beach and looking disturbed, passed through our group. So, we asked him «did you feel that ?» and he asked : «what ?» «the earthquake» To our bemusement, he started laughing heartily : «so it was that !» He thought that I had had a heart attack !» He was so relieved that he chatted with us for a little while, checking on his Ipad for news of the earthquake : 6.3 on the Rithcher scale and coming from inland (32kms) from where we were standing and about 36kms deep). Basically : inland : no danger of tsunami, deep down : the tremors are less felt on the surface.
Well, all this made me ponder. To think that those brave Kiwis are confronted by Mother’s nature whims and that they learn how to live with it... to rebuild... to remain... To think that, out there, overseas, people are creating their own conflicts, to think that we are absolutely nothing, nothing at all, confronted by such forces. 
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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The there's all the volcanoes too! See here if interested.
E.g. Auckland Volcanic Field
A volcanic field that covers around 360km2 under Auckland city. Includes 49 separate volcanoes, each of which is considered extinct. However, the field as a whole remains active. The last eruption was Rangitoto, around 600 years ago.
One of those volcanoes, Mt Eden is described as 'a scoria cone volcano that last erupted around 16,000 years ago. At 196m in height, Mt Eden is the highest natural point in Auckland. Historically used as a pā site and also a quarry.' You can drive up to the top of Mt Eden. You don't appreciate it's a volcano until you get to the top and look down into it!
image; Mt Eden in the foreground. Rangitoto is out in the sea, top right.
Lake Taupō, which you probably visited is a caldera volcano that last erupted about 1,800 years ago. This eruption was the most violent the world has experienced in the past 5,000 years.
Mt Ruapehu, nearby, last erupted in 2007. Beautiful mountain to climb ... and ski!
Christchurch after the earthquake has still not been rebuilt in some areas and some parts may not be. An art project(s) have filled some of the gaps; Gap Filler
Feeling an earthquake certainly is a freaky experience.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Should Hollers know about this rare biscuit !?
ON a family website, all that HOLers need to know, is that its an undiplomatic term that some of the rest of the country uses for a resident of Auckland. I was taken aback to hear the definition within the last few years, in a suburban Waikanae street, from the wife of a retired police officer.
If you were near a pine forest TBD, perhaps you were nearer the northern end of the beach?
BTW I think Phil K is right about a Tsunami. Yes, you were not in danger of one (I can't remember any, ever on the NZ coast, but No, if there had been one, Kapiti Island (or any island) wouldn't have blocked it and may have magnfied it.
If a tsunami had come in perpendicular to the main coast and hit the long, v. step, Tasman sea side of the island, my guess is that it would have wheeled around at both ends, with the end tips of the island acting as hinges: I think the force on the leeward side would be about doubled. It'll probably never happen there, but maybe in another part of the world. I was driving down the Paekakariki coast a few hours after the big Chile quake – and glancing out to the sea. I think the effect was barely measurable (but it was, elsewhere in the Pacific).
Many thank for your observations. Did you get to Napier?
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TODAY is the third anniversary. In your link I was interested to see the aerial photo of the site of the destroyed (modern-but-poorly-built) Canterbury TV building in the immediate aftermath. What is striking in the shot, is an obviously older building alongside with no visible damage.
There's a lesson in engineering here and the proof is also shown by the converse:
TBD you also saw the art deco town of Napier. As you know, after the 1931 earthquake it was rebuilt in the then-modern art deco style.What you may not know, is that after that quake, in Napier's CBD, one building was left standing: the Public Trust, that stood out and almost alone because of its strong construction:
1931 Napier—Public Trust Office, centre right
looking south; Pacific upper left, beyond tree-lined promenade
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One of many reports following the quake noted;
The NZSEE Recommendations [ on the seismic performance of buildings] have no regulatory standing, meaning there is no compulsion for them to be followed. There is no monitoring of the practice of assessing buildings to identify inconsistencies and address these, or to ascertain whether the NZSEE Recommendations are being followed.
The evidence given to the Royal Commission showed that there are inconsistencies in building assessment practice. It is clearly important that a degree of consistency occurs.
Also read not long after the earthquake that building codes 2004 (requiring structural improvements to older buildings for earthquake proofing) were not being strictly implemented because of cost. The government had a part in this, knowing that this was the case but not enforcing the 2004 requirements.
On a wider timeline here is a report from NZ Civil Defence giving an historical narrative to Haza...
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