Devil is in the detail

As well as being instant geotech and seismic experts, many Shakeytown citizens are now also becoming all too familiar with the intricacies of insurance fine print. First it was the businesses in the CBD who found that business interruption insurance didn't cover inaccessibility. The insurance companies' argument was, it wasn't the earthquake that was preventing businesses from trading, it was the cordon - introduced by Civil Defense and now maintained by CERA - and that wasn't covered under the policy.

Now there's a whole lot of homeowners suddenly finding that their insurance company's interpretation of the situation is not what they expected. The issue was highlighted by Dr David Haywood, on his blog Southerly - part of the Public Address stable - and picked up by The Press and the NZ Herald. Again the argument is that it's not the earthquake that has caused the issue, it is the government's zoning of the land. As far as the insurance company is concerned if a house is repairable that is all they will pay out for, so even if the homeowner has total replacement insurance, they will only get the (2007) market value of their house at best. And, as David explains, that's not nearly enough to replace/rebuild a 1900's character villa on a new section that has to be purchased at 2011 prices. John Key seems to be aware there are problems, so maybe things will change but I think we're more likely to see people end up short-changed.

Community spirit

There's been a lot of talk about community lately... with the recent focus on land reports & the government's payout offer for red zone houses, many wonderful little tight-knit groups are being highlighted in the media.

Here's Press reporter, Olivia Carville, in Seabreeze Close, Bexley.
The rum-drinking club of Arnst Place was featured twice - on Campbell Live and in The Press. Bloody marvellous way to cope with it all!
Here's another Campbell Live piece, the day of the land status/payout announcement. It features residents of Bexley, Dallington, Avondale, Kaiapoi & Kairaki Beach reacting to the Red Zone/Green Zone decisions.

One of my favourite communities however, is still in the White Zone... awaiting further assessment. They've taken a few knocks, my harbourside friends, but there has never been any doubt that the community spirit would hold fast even while the ground was swaying. Here's a tribute from a former resident, James Muir, featuring music from The Eastern.

Love in a Little Town from James Muir on Vimeo.

And one more warming moment... literally... a brilliant notion from a couple of local women, well-realised with the help of Rural Women NZ and the NZ Sock Co... Aftersocks!!

Get yours now via the website - apparently they've become quite the rage, so get in now before they're all gone. Ours are on their way :)

The patient is now at home recovering and yes, we're still smiling.
Now listen to me universe, that's not an open invitation for things to get even worse, mmkay?!

Still smiling......?

You know the old saying, 'smile, for things could be worse'...

On September 4th, when the earth first shook and part of our blue brick wall fell down, we were smiling. After all, we'd just gone through a massive seismic event and only lost part of a wall. There were people worse off than us, in Darfield and Kaiapoi, as well as Christchurch, who'd lost their homes or had massive fissures in the front lawn. We were lucky, we counted our blessings and we marvelled at our collective good fortune to have come through as a region with no loss of life.

On September 11th, when the nice structural engineer told us that our house was unsafe to occupy, we were smiling. After all, we had insurance cover for things like this, so we decamped to a Riccarton Rd motel unit with two bedrooms and a spa bath, which saw the kids sharing a room for the first time in about 14 years. We spent the next week frantically clearing out the house before anyone came round to tell us we couldn't go in there at all. There were people worse off than us after all, people who had no chance at all to retrieve possessions because their homes just completely collapsed. We sorted & boxed, we stacked & packed & looked for a place to live.

Dear Mother Nature: Go the f*** to sleep!

There's a cool little project just starting up which asks quake-shaken C-city residents to write a letter to Mother Nature. Writings will be collated and used as the basis for a short film currently titled "Dear Mother Nature" - you can find out more about the project (& submit your letter) via this Films of Afternoon facebook page.

When I shared the link to my friends I borrowed the name of a hilarious recently released book, 'Go the fuck to sleep' by Adam Mansbach. To hear the original version, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (how awesome is that?!), check out this linky here... I hope it stays up, it seems the YouTube clips are being pulled down faster than a speeding toddler.

After listening to SLJ reading this book it struck me just how similar the feelings of tiredness and exasperation are between parents of non-sleeping children, and all of us living here in Shakeytown. So here's my version... non-censored (just like the book), 'cos some words need to be said/written without any bleeping, especially when living in an active seismic zone.

Saturday in the park

It's been a tough week... it must be true, it even says so in The Press! But it really has been one of those weird, exhausting weeks in which so much happened & life got put on hold again. Just 7 days ago I was in Hagley Park taking part in a strange little competition with a small bunch of hopeful locals. There wasn't much pre-promotion of the Grabaseat Standby event - I saw a mention in a tiny online news story via The Press, and others heard something on the radio.

 The optimistically worded press release urged everyone to get there early, as only the first 300 people could register to take part...

Retail therapy

A number of businesses have been unable to operate as normal since February's quake, among them the iconic inner city department store Ballantynes. I have a certain fondness for the store, not because I'm a regular customer (my income does not match their price tags) but because I worked there when I was in my early twenties. I flitted through a few different departments during my time - Mailorder, Ladies Underfashions, Boys Schoolwear - and learnt a lot about the social fabric of C-city from both customers and workmates.

I also worked at a few of the famous Ballantyne's Sales and saw many well-heeled ladies drop their prim & proper facade long enough to elbow their way through to the sales tables. On one memorable occasion I was on the shop floor as the doors were opened for Day 1 of the first floor sale (Ladies Fashion, Underfashions, Accessories + Childrenswear) and my jaw dropped as this horde of normally respectable adult women surged towards their destination. The few that waited for the lift were swiftly overtaken by those who simply ran up the stairs, and woe betide anyone who got in their way. Just as you should not get between a mama grizzly and her cubs, never ever get between a Merivale matron and a Bally's sale table.

Deja vu all over again

Today has been a day filled with low-flying aircraft, police sirens and plenty of shakes. This morning I headed off towards C4HQ2 to pick up some coffee beans, travelling up the newly-lumpy surface of Fitzgerald Ave and down Tuam Street which has again been hit by liquifaction. Driving down Tuam is like being on a mogul slope at times except the bumps are sand volcanoes, pouring out grey-brown sludge.

It is evident that the inner city has taken another big hit from these latest quakes... in fact, the pattern is repeated across the city. Some buildings that were already damaged have now collapsed, in some cases injuring people who were trying to save significant architectural elements like stained-glass windows.

Most places that had liquifaction in February have got it again, and a few new places as well. NZ Herald has some quake pics here, while The Press has some impressive aerial shots here.