Another local quake

No, you weren't dreaming it this morning. According to GeoNet, there really was an earthquake.

The following earthquake has been recorded by GNS:

Reference number: 3577477/G
Universal Time: 2011/09/11 17:30:35
Local time (NZST): 05:30 AM on Monday 12 September 2011
Latitude, Longitude: 41.79S, 174.58E
NZ Map Grid (E, N): 2642000, 5935000
NZ Trans Merc (E, N): 1732000, 5373000
Location: 60 km south of Wellington
Focal depth: 33
Magnitude: 3.5

Web page: http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/3577477g.html
Web service: http://www.geonet.org.nz/services/quake/3577477g

May have been felt in lower North Island and upper South Island.

3.3 quake, 10km NW of Wellington

As usual I didn't feel a thing, but last night at 9:58pm there was a earthquake nearby. GeoNet gives the following details:

The following earthquake has been recorded by GNS:

Reference number: 3574596/G
Universal Time: 2011/09/06 09:58:46
Local time (NZST): 09:58 PM on Tuesday 06 September 2011
Latitude, Longitude: 41.22S, 174.73E
NZ Map Grid (E, N): 2655000, 5998000
NZ Trans Merc (E, N): 1745000, 5436000
Location: 10 km north-west of Wellington
Focal depth: 30
Magnitude: 3.3

Web page: http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/3574596g.html
Web service: http://www.geonet.org.nz/services/quake/3574596g

Felt Wellington area.

Click on the links to take you through to the Felt Report, and fill it in if you actually noticed it.

One year on

One year ago today I had toothache that kept me awake most of the night. One year ago today I sat in the silent, shaking dark with growning panic. One year ago today my cat was hiding under my bed, petrified. One year ago today I actually used my Civil Defence training. With the usual strangeness of time it seems both long ago and far too recent.

- Jennifer Jacobs, Christchurch

4th September 2010 - 4: 35am

For people in Canterbury the earth shifted beneath them, literally, and everything changed.

For some people it was a dry run of what was to come in February, but for others that first shake was enough to tear their lives apart. It was a miracle that no one died in that quake (the timing meant that most people were at home in their beds), but people no longer felt safe in their own homes (some were forced to abandon their houses due to the physical damage), familiar places were broken and no longer familiar, workplaces closed, sometimes forever, livelihoods lost or drastically altered.

What was "normal" became something very different to what you or I would consider to be normal. Moata's blog on Stuff has some brilliant insights on this, and the comments are enlightening, and quite touching. http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/blogs/moatas-blog-idle/5554131/Happy-anniversary-baby

Things changed for the rest of the country too. There was a certain degree of "What the..? Christchurch?! But Wellington is supposed to get the Big One..." and then the sudden realisation for many people that, yes, it could happen any where, any time. And we live in Porirua, the Wellington Fault is just over there, why aren't you prepared already?!

Sales of bottled water and water containers around the country sky-rocketed. I know some of our local stores sold out as people actually started to think about their emergency supplies, and stocked up.

The phone on my desk started ringing near-constantly with community-conscious groups asking us to come out and talk to them about preparedness, or individuals asking about the best ways to store water or create an emergency toilet. It's one of the things we're here to do, so keep those calls coming.

Some of our council staff were deployed to Canterbury to help with building inspections and repairs to the sewage, drainage & water networks. We also had staff helping at the National Crisis Management Centre coordinating the national response.

Response agencies around the country stretched their own local resources to send staff & volunteers to ease the burden of those local people who had continued to provide response services to the public, despite being just as affected as those they were helping.

Lessons were learned about things that worked in theory, but weren't so good in practice, proven systems proved themselves yet again. Some of the wrinkles were ironed out of plans which had never been fully tested, and almost everyone had some handy gem of wisdom to pass on to help others get through the next event - which unfortunately came all too soon on February 22nd.

What have you learned from Canterbury's misfortune? Is there some handy tip that friends or family in Canterbury have passed on to you? Have you taken extra steps to prepare your family as as result of the Canterbury earthquakes?

Rain!

Looks like our weather has returned to normal - precipitation now falls at high speed and almost horizontally, just the way it's supposed to. None of this floaty white stuff wafting out of the sky.


Mind you this rain stuff isn't nearly as entertaining - you can't sculpt things out of it, and it doesn't create such wonderful photo opportunities. All of the cold and none of the fun!

Snow closes roads in Porirua

Tuesday 16 August - 8.50am

Snowfall is still affecting parts of Porirua City. Paekakariki Hill Road and Moonshine Road are closed until further notice. Spicer Landfill is also closed as Broken Hill Road is too dangerous to travel. All hillside roads in the city are icy so extreme care is needed when driving in these areas.
See the Emergency Status page for more info, or sign up to our text alert system for the latest information.

Advice for driving in snow

A Canadian friend of mine, currently living in Christchurch, would like to pass on the following advice. I'm pretty sure that most of the population of Porirua has little or no experience with driving on snow, what with it never snowing here... so it's very timely.

As usual, if there's snow on the roads, it's really best to stay home. You might get the hang of driving on snow, but the other person coming towards the intersection might be completely useless. I'd prefer to stay out of their way entirely - though you hear the occasional story of someone ploughing through someone's front fence as they completely lose control.

1. If you're new at this, start very slowly and get a feel for how the car copes.
   
2. Slow down! Don't try to drive at anything like the speed limit. If you're skidding or fishtailing, you're going too fast.
   
3. Assume your braking distance will be double what you're used to and brake gently.
   
4. always apply the accellerator gently so that you don't lose traction.
   
5. Increase your following distance. (one of my other friends commented that the 22 second rule would be appropriate - sounds nice and safe!)

Roads closed

Paekakariki Hill Road is now closed due to the heavy snow. There have been numerous accidents already.

Rimutaka Hill Road is also closed until further notice, but that was no big surprise.

Snow! Everywhere!

In case you hadn't noticed, it's snowing! It's snowing right down to sea level too, so all our roads are covered in the stuff, which can make driving pretty hazardous. The best recommendation I can make for today is STAY HOME!

You don't need to go out driving today, you've got plenty of food in the cupboard, because you're all prepared for days like this - not that we ever expected snow like this in Porirua... but this is exactly the kind of unexpected event that you should prepare for!

Stay home, stay warm. You should also be prepared for power cuts, as heavy snow like this damages power lines - I've already had one power cut here.

If you absolutely have to drive somewhere, take it very slowly, and carefully. You're not going to get anything like normal traction or control.

Rug up this weekend - Cold snap on the way!

The MetService has issued a Special Weather Advisory for much of the country.

Another exceptionally cold outbreak, like the one on late July (or worse) is on the way. It's expected to reach the lower North Island on Sunday night. There'll be bitterly cold south to southwest gales, and probably snow too. Monday won't be much better either.

It's pretty likely that the Rimutaka Hill Road will be closed, so I wouldn't book any meetings over the hill for Monday, and if you are planning any long journeys, you might want to chuck some water and food, and a sleeping bag into the car, just in case you get stuck.

You may want to take pity on the pets and not kick them out of the house that night, and if you're in our rural areas, you'll want to make sure that any new-born livestock are well looked after.

So rug up folks, and take care of yourselves this weekend!

Oil spill on Paekakariki Hill Rd

Advisory from Police for motorists to be aware of oil spill 3-4kms south of the lookout on Paekakariki Hill Road.