5.5 Why?

So people outside Christchurch often question why we continue to have these earthquakes. Friends and family wonder how we endure. They also question why we remain in Christchurch.

We get alot of information about earthquakes, here in Christchurch. We are regular told that we will have aftershocks, they will decline in size and frequency, but it will be 2-10 years time frame. And yes, the thought of that kind of time-scale is discouraging. But we are also used to discouraging time-scales. Our city will be 10-15 years, or longer, in rebuilding. My church has been given a 3-5 year projection date before it's building will be restored or rebuilt. But hey, I've been out of my house for 14 months and still have no idea when the insurance will be settled. We know and must accept this long-term plan of recovery, including aftershocks.

Each time we get a swarm of aftershocks,like we had this week which included the 5.5 yesterday, we feel it. Our children wake up, we once again here every sound that might be the rumble of an earthquake, and we know our city will be set back alittle. Insurance companies point to these events as the reason they will not re-insure in the city. We can't move forward again.

A 5.5 is a respectable earthquake in its own right, it wobbles, and shakes a few things down, but it shouldn't brigh us to our knees. It doesn't have that kind power...unless we let it.