Andrew:Thanks Marc,
It looks like the two big shocks bracketed Sumner. Hope you are in a place where rockfalls and falling debris can’t get you.
Marc
I had just flown in from Tahoe and got home to a nice sunny day (though a lot of haze in the air which caused some airlines to cancel flights – from the ash from the volcano in Chile). I had barely been in the house 30 minutes when the first earthquake hit – and then the second one was awful. The house felt like it was being violently thrown up and down and I don’t understand how buildings can put up with that kind of force without major damage. There is some damage though but not too bad. And everything fell off the shelves and walls again!! I think I may leave things on the floor as when I pick them up there seems to be another aftershock!!
I watched in horror as it looked like half of the cliffs fell into the ocean across the other side of the harbour (Godley Head) when the big one hit.
Best regards,
Andrew
Hi Andrew:Marc:
I had seen something in the news that flights had been cancelled in NZ because of the ash, but found it hard to believe, somehow (I mean, that’s halfway around the world!) But then I saw the plume video here, and rethought:
The cliffs falling into the sea: That sounds awful! The news is the Lyttelton Timeball station finally collapsed, for good. A lot of broken buildings in Christchurch are collapsing, for good.
You and your neighbour’s houses are on a lot better foundation (volcanic rock in Diamond Harbour) than many in the Christchurch area (alluvium, subject to liquefaction). If any houses can survive the trauma, yours can!
It’s funny, the little superstitions we employ to try and appease the angry Gods. Don’t pick up those items on the floor, and see if that helps!
Marc
Yes, as a plume modeller, you should know how far that kind of stuff can travel! It is funny because on Saturday morning I was hiking at Tahoe and looked across the lake to where a controlled burn was taking place. They couldn’t have picked worse conditions for that burn for exposing people to smoke. I could see the source of the smoke and then it rose just slightly into the air and then levelled off at the height of the temperature inversion (quite low), spreading smoke across a distance of several miles each side of the source. Stable atmospheres are not good for dilution of particles as we all know from our work. And between Chile and NZ, there isn’t a whole lot of anything to intercept the particles so they just carry on moving I guess! My AirNZ flight from Auckland to Chch flew very low to stay below the ash. Other airlines didn’t fly at all.
Best regards,
Andrew
Andrew:Marc:
My friends and relatives in Albuquerque, NM, are doing nothing but complaining about air quality, due to the Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona. They are directly downwind of the fire. Similar to the Chilean Volcano/NZ situation (but on a smaller scale), even the considerable distance downwind isn’t enough to protect them.
There are other fires too. A friend went to visit the Chiricahua Mtns. of southeastern Arizona, and found the Horseshoe Fire everywhere.
Meanwhile, life in Sacramento continues on in its frivolous Californian way. I’m painting a porch. I adopted a rabbit this weekend. I put my Albuquerque roots to use in documenting filming locations for the TV series “Breaking Bad”. I went to see Kylie in Las Vegas in May.
The only thing I’m unprepared for is natural disaster, and California has been ominously quiet, of late.
Marc
I hope CA stays quiet for some time to come as I need at least one home without earthquake damage!! Mind you, my Tahoe place came perilously close to fire damage when the Angora Fire broke out a few years ago.
Your comments about CA life made me laugh. On Saturday I got stuck in traffic for hours at the Bay Bridge because some guy tried to jump off the bridge.
Have a great week,
Andrew
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