Just goes to show...

The Chinese province of Sichuan has been hit by another earthquake - measuring somewhere between 5.7 and 6.1 (reports vary), at about 7.30pm NZ time. It killed 28 people, injured 250, damaged or destroyed nearly 100,000 homes, and affected at least 600,000 residents. It was followed 24 hours later aby a 5.6 aftershock, from which there were no immediate reports of damage. Over 600 schools were damaged, and heavy rain and difficult terrain were hindering rescue efforts.

Compare this to New Zealand. Hastings was hit by a quake that measured 5.9 on the Richter Scale, just last Tuesday. It moved some furniture around, and knocked a lot of things off shelves, but really didn't cause much structural or significant damage. Even the Gisborne quake, measuring 6.8, didn't cause that much damage - all thanks to New Zealand building standards. It all goes to show that building standards make a difference. We have them for a reason, so no cutting corners!