Aftermath

As the night went on the news only got worse and worse. One of the people we met earlier in the week came into our room and looked terrified, shocked really (we hadn't seen her at all for a while). She said she was in the center of Christchurch when the quake happened and just now walked back from it. Now she had our full attention.

She was studying at a Starbucks with someone she knew when she felt it. The quake evidently felt much stronger down-town than it did in any of our flats. The walls were shaking, ceiling tiles were falling and all she could do was hold on for dear life under a table. As soon as it was done she ran outside to safety in an open courtyard. She ran out so fast she lost her purse with all forms of I.D. (including passport), cell phone, wallet, everything. She didn't realize this till later though and at the moment was only thinking about the destruction around her. She saw the cathedral collapse and the rest of the city start to deteriorate and burn. Before she started to walk out of the city she saw someone get trapped underneath falling debris. She went to go pull her out but unfortunately it was too late...(I can't even imagine that scene in my mind...how horrific that would be). We didn't say a word the whole time she was talking and stayed silent for a few minutes after. We now knew just how bad this quake was and how much effect it had on the city.