Tuesday, February 22, 2011. "New Zealand's darkest day", in the words of our Prime Minister. 6.3 on the Richter scale. Smaller than the first. A lot deadlier.
You would either have heard or seen or listened to someone talk about the Christchurch earthquake. If not, you are about to read something terrifying, something beyond imagination, something very, very real.
On Tuesday, February 22 at 12.51pm, Christchurch was hit by another devastating shock.
This one was different. The first quake claimed no lives. The second, claimed 147. And it pains me to write this, but there will be more.
So many unaccounted for, so many possibly gone. New Zealand is a country different from the rest.
No matter what may happen, no matter what we may find, we shall press on to bring loved ones, or to bring closure. When Christchurch needed help, New Zealand answered.
So did the United States, Japan, China, Australia, England, Thailand, Israel. The world.
Most of Christchurch may be gone but its will hasn't. Buildings can be fixed, time can heal, but this should never be forgotten. Those who have disappeared from this earth should not disappear from our thoughts.
