Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ

Report from SISWP President, Yvonne Simpson:

The Soroptimists from SI Christchurch and SI North Canterbury are all safe. I have checked with both presidents. Some families have lost their homes; others will be without water and power for a  week. Schools and inner city work places are closed until Wednesday at least – it will take some time to assess the damage – buildings are getting an X if deemed unsafe and are no go zones. Some have collapsed altogether – and there are places where there are no signs of damage. Both presidents said it was an eerie feeling. I was there on the 12^th floor of an inner city hotel on Friday night – and it was the biggest shake I’ve  ever been in (and I live on a fault line).

We are fortunate because the NZ building codes are such that earthquake proofing is compulsory. It might not stop the houses being damaged – but it does result in less human loss (luckily no deaths in this quake).