Earthquake tonight

[Rob Beale]

We were hit by a large eathquake tonight in New Zealand, 8:55pm local time. It was centred 50 km southeast of Gisborne in the sea at a depth of 40km with a magnitude of 6.8

I was in town with my family when it hit and experienced the longest rolling shake I have ever felt! My daughter and I were on a seat on the footpath, and the cars were rocking rapidly back and forth on their suspension. We moved out onto the roadway clear of the verandah and waited for it to subside - it seemed way longer than a minute of shaking!

We heard a loud bang to the right of us up the road, and we now know that a verandah collapsed, and a couple of parapets have fallen: one through a verandah, one through the roof of the shop.

Power was restored after about 20 minutes, though phone lines were jammed for over an hour.

No doubt there will be more damage found in the morning!

I can report that my C8AX is safe and the gear in the shed is still in place, just the odd thing fell over or off a shelf!
I'll check the chimney tomorrow, and the brick veneer on the house. We like timber framed houses here so they can roll with the shake!

I think I've settled down enough to go to bed!
Rob

ps this is the local news paper report posted one hour after the shake:

http://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/Defa...e420b903008130