Earthquake!

GSGracie · 09-04-2010, 11:35 PM

Had a major earthquake in New Zealand, 7.1, on Friday night. House is still standing, but lost power for several hours, and still have no hot water, due to ruptured tank in the ceiling space. Went out to the RV on Saturday night and despite our major power problems, got hooked into shore power, and spent a lovely night. Slept through the after-shocks, it was no worse than someone going to the loo in the middle of the night. Will take the RV into a camping ground tonight and spend another night there, SWMBO is petrified (stick house two storied) and she is not ready to go back to it yet. We are much better off than many others in Christchurch, you may have seen news of some major destruction, but we got away from it remarkably well. No deaths reported yet, and it appears to be mostly older houses with brick and masonry damage.

Thank god for the RV - and our insurance claim for lost crystal and valuables may just cover new batteries for the RV, and help with solar! Weren't sure what to do with the crystal when we went full time anyway.

Will keep you posted!

Seajay · 09-05-2010, 01:37 AM

Much glad you and yours are safe and sound my brother. ''Sticks and Bricks'' can be replaced and rebuilt where necessary but a ''personal loss'' is gone forever. Be safe my friend and keep us posted here on the 'other side of the world'.

Lindsay Richards · 09-05-2010, 04:18 PM

We have done this after hurricane power outages. Our problem was neighbors wanting to use it for showers and cooking. I even hooked up my generator to the house and used a AC window unit.

JRNOLL · 09-05-2010, 08:17 PM

Happy to hear that you are O.K. Take care. Joe

historyljc · 09-07-2010, 12:36 AM

Glad you're OK.

These things do make wonderful emergency shelter in addition to everything else they do.

Good man · 09-07-2010, 03:22 AM

Glad you are O-K as far as injuries ...and that the people of New Zealand have been spared as well. We know how much human suffering these things can cause. Seajay expressed it eloquently ...as is his style.

My opinion is that RVers will generally fare better than most of the population in the wake of any calamity ...owing largely to our familiarity with "self-contained" systems and our willingness to improvise and overcome.

Best Wishes to you as you deal with this bump in the road.
Jim

GSGracie · 09-07-2010, 03:45 AM

Many thanks for your kind thoughts. We have been getting 30 aftershocks a day, up to 5.4 magnitude so now that we are 3 1/2 days later, we would quite like it to just go away!! Our city is full of contrasts - there are some areas that have hardly been touched, yet one or two houses in that same area have all but been demolished. You can drive for some way and only see the occasional missing chimney, or a sand hill where the sand has forced its way through a fissure, and other areas have rippling roads and subsidence in their foundations. At least there has been no loss of life so far, which is partly due to the timing of the quake.

As part of our survival plan we moved into the bus and I found that the main house battery in my RV was stuffed, and so replaced it with a new Deep Cycle battery. The nice man I bought it off will fit solar and a fancy charger/controller/inverter for a really reasonable price. It is so affordable, I will get it done within a fortnight, and then we will be truly self-contained for power.

Again, thanks so much for your good wishes - it means a lot.

Good man · 09-07-2010, 04:01 AM

Mr. G.,
What does the acronym, SWMBO signify, please? ...if that is not too personal a question... I can assume that it refers to your mate by context... 'have never seen it before.
JimG

GSGracie · 09-08-2010, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Good man

Mr. G.,
What does the acronym, SWMBO signify, please? ...if that is not too personal a question... I can assume that it refers to your mate by context... 'have never seen it before.
JimG

SWMBO - She Who Must Be Obeyed, from a line in a British TV series about a crusty lawyer called "Rumpole of the Old Bailey". Such a true acronym...

AL · 09-08-2010, 06:55 AM

Hey GSGracie,

Glad you are both ok, and were lucky enough to have an RV to use and make things that much eaiser!! Also ROFLMAO on the SWMBO!!!

dajudge · 09-08-2010, 10:58 AM

Glad to hear you ar ok gracie. In o5 we spent five days on our rv due to a hurricane knocking out the power. we ran our generator continously, ran extension to house to run frig and freezer. swmbo was quiet happy.

Good man · 09-09-2010, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSGracie

SWMBO - She Who Must Be Obeyed, from a line in a British TV series about a crusty lawyer called "Rumpole of the Old Bailey". Such a true acronym...

GGracie,
...Just when one thinks he has heard the funniest lovingly sarcastic term of endearment for the General Manager of Domestic Affairs in one's household... comes now this...

SWMBO! She Who Must Be Obeyed ...How eloquent in its form, how irrefutably solid in its logic, how marvelously ingenious in its capacity to express such a profundity of thought in so few letters ...how is it that I have never heard that before???

THAT, my newfound friend from down under the "down under" over yonder... THAT is FUNNY!!! Thanks for clearing up that mystery.

That you can maintain such a sense of humor in the wake of an earthquake says volumes about you. I am so very proud to have made your acquaintance in this format. I know that I would be even more blessed to meet you in person.
Sincerely,
Jim

PS... The trick for me now is to begin referring to my bride as "SWMBO"... and to keep secret from her the translation for as long as I possibly can manage.

It will doubtless be a daunting challenge ...but one for which I am uniquely prepared. ...For, you see ...it was I who invented the Internet, in spite of what that scoundrel, Al Gore, may have claimed.

GASP!... I have never told anyone that before this moment.

GSGracie · 09-09-2010, 06:17 PM

We have hot water again - or will when it warms up, but we are almost fully functioning again. Ther RV has been wonderful, we get texts through the night asking if we felt "that one", and we seldom have! Something about the suspension that absorbs much of the shock?

An interesting question : at night we have been bringing the slides in in case of a major quake doing damage to the slide. Is this necessary or am I being too cautious? We have had 395 after-shocks of magnitude 3 or higher since Saturday morning, so it is not like there is a only a remote possibility of a shake while the slide is out.

CD · 09-09-2010, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSGracie

An interesting question : at night we have been bringing the slides in in case of a major quake doing damage to the slide. Is this necessary or am I being too cautious? We have had 395 after-shocks of magnitude 3 or higher since Saturday morning, so it is not like there is a only a remote possibility of a shake while the slide is out.

May not hurt them but why take the chance. You don't need them at night. But it could happen during the day. Just can't win.