austraLasia #2709
Salesian students 'all shook up' on NZ outdoor excursion
CHRISTCHURCH: 7 September 2010 -- The Salesian community in New Zealand (opened earlier this year) is in Auckland, on the North Island, but as it happens, 9 students from Salesian administered Dominic College in Hobart, Tasmania, NZ's island 'neighbour', had arrived in Christchurch at precisely the wrong time! At 4.30 am on the morning of 5 September, the city was struck by a 7.1 earthquake, one of the largest to his the country in the last 80 years. The earthquake caused substantial damage to the city, some injuries but no loss of life.
The nine students, along with six from another Hobart Catholic school, were in the care of the outdoors education teacher from Dominic College, who acted quickly to gather the students according to standard earthquake drill - in a safe room, under tables and in doorways. Nobody was injured, and once city authoroties allowed freedom of movement, the students and staff were able to continue their journey which takes them across to Greymouth on the western side of the South Island, opposite Christchurch. Of course, that direction would not necessarily ensure no more potential earthquakes, as the fault line that runs through the country traverses much of the South Island and a good part of the North. That's New Zealand's lot.
New Zealand experiences some 14,000 earthquakes annually, only 800 or so of which can normally be felt. The most devastating earthquake in terms of human loss occurred in 1931 in Hawke's Bay (North Island) when 256 people died. Because of the frequency of tremors and the ever-likely possibility of a major one, New Zealand building regulations are amongst the strictest int he world, and the people have a 'culture' of earthquake readiness, all of which no doubt contributed to the fact that the most recent, while destroying many buildings in the city, did not inflict death.
The NZ earthquake is a reminder, nevertheless, that a large area of Salesian activity in the Pacific zone, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga (which has no Salesian community but has contributed good, solid Salesian vocations) and of course NZ itself, has this factor to contend with. The Pacific Tsunami which struck just a year ago in the region (29 September, 8.3 strength), killing more than a hundred people, resulted in the tragic loss of one young Salesian's mother and several other members of his family, in Tonga's northern islands.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Salesian students 'all shook up' on NZ outdoor excursion
CHRISTCHURCH: 7 September 2010 -- The Salesian community in New Zealand (opened earlier this year) is in Auckland, on the North Island, but as it happens, 9 students from Salesian administered Dominic College in Hobart, Tasmania, NZ's island 'neighbour', had arrived in Christchurch at precisely the wrong time! At 4.30 am on the morning of 5 September, the city was struck by a 7.1 earthquake, one of the largest to his the country in the last 80 years. The earthquake caused substantial damage to the city, some injuries but no loss of life.
The nine students, along with six from another Hobart Catholic school, were in the care of the outdoors education teacher from Dominic College, who acted quickly to gather the students according to standard earthquake drill - in a safe room, under tables and in doorways. Nobody was injured, and once city authoroties allowed freedom of movement, the students and staff were able to continue their journey which takes them across to Greymouth on the western side of the South Island, opposite Christchurch. Of course, that direction would not necessarily ensure no more potential earthquakes, as the fault line that runs through the country traverses much of the South Island and a good part of the North. That's New Zealand's lot.
New Zealand experiences some 14,000 earthquakes annually, only 800 or so of which can normally be felt. The most devastating earthquake in terms of human loss occurred in 1931 in Hawke's Bay (North Island) when 256 people died. Because of the frequency of tremors and the ever-likely possibility of a major one, New Zealand building regulations are amongst the strictest int he world, and the people have a 'culture' of earthquake readiness, all of which no doubt contributed to the fact that the most recent, while destroying many buildings in the city, did not inflict death.
The NZ earthquake is a reminder, nevertheless, that a large area of Salesian activity in the Pacific zone, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga (which has no Salesian community but has contributed good, solid Salesian vocations) and of course NZ itself, has this factor to contend with. The Pacific Tsunami which struck just a year ago in the region (29 September, 8.3 strength), killing more than a hundred people, resulted in the tragic loss of one young Salesian's mother and several other members of his family, in Tonga's northern islands.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
