Looting? That was about two people pulling some stuff out of a broken shop window. In fact the response here has been remarkably disciplined. The general feeling so far is that it is surprising how level-headed the public have been. When people were told not to come into the inner city and rubberneck, they did as advised.
This was an earthquake to match Haiti's. But seismologists are reminding us rather too gleefully that it was only a 7, not the 8 which we should get every 300 years, and which we haven't had for 300 years.
No part of NZ is safe. The whole place is a faultline between two plates. Our biggest lake was one of the world's most recent super-volcanoes. Christchurch, like any town with a deep harbour, is formed around a not too old crater rim.
Because of this, the town is quite well prepared for an earthquake disaster. Over the past few years, there has even been quite a bit of building strengthening going on as a result of new bylaws - and those who had been dragging their feet will now probably be collecting on their national earthquake insurance.
Our national museum has an earthquake simulation "ride" where you get bumped about by a quake modeled on a Japanese event. This itself turned out to be useful preparation. It really did feel like that, if a little more wild.
Anyway, the civil defence response has proved pretty effective so far. The bill is going to be huge, but the preparation has paid.
The tremors are still continuing. It is a little like being on a ship, getting little bumps all the time.
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I like that image. Yeah, it goes to show that decent construction, social order, and general preparedness goes a LOOOOONG way. You should give some feedback to the company that makes that simulator and tell them they have a pretty good lock on the experience; it isn't everyone who rides out a 7.0.