I am stunned by what has happened down South though. Looking at the pictures of the city looking like some haunted post-apocalyptic zombie movie set sends chills down your spine. I spent days glued to the TV or the internet watching as they showed videos of absolute carnage. Watching people, New Zealanders, being dragged out covered in red stained sheets. Eight days later and still they are recovering them.

You see scenes of flooding in Australia, tsunami’s over in the islands, big land slides in Asia, hurricanes in America. But it feels so far away, and it is painful, but it’s international news and “happening to someone else”. To have something happen in your own back yard makes you feel so, well, vulnerable I guess.

They reckon the next big one will hit Wellington… we had an earthquake last night, but it was relatively minor. I think we’re incredibly lucky. And I think Christchurch has been battered and shaken, but will rise up better than ever. They have a country behind them giving everything they have got to help them rebuild their lives and their beautiful city. <3

For the latest news and updates on what is happening in Christchurch (or on the earthquake in general) the best place to look is Twitter. Search for the #eqnz tag: http://twitter.com/#!/search/eqnz.

So what can you do?

I’m worried for New Zealand. We are a dirt poor country borrowing millions per week, so we’re going to need all the help we can get. So if you can help, then please do.

Donate: To donate or to help out Christchurch, please get in touch with the New Zealand Red Cross or visit the NZ Government Christchurch Earthquake Appeal website. Also consider donating to the SPCA, as there are lots of little animals without homes etc out there now.
BEWARE: there are many fraudsters out there, so make sure you donate through an official channel.

Spread the word: Get on Facebook, Twitter etc and spread the word on how others can help. Follow @NZstuff and @NZherald and other news agencies and retweet what’s happening. Raise the awareness. Use the #chch and #eqnz hashtags.

Happy New Year and all the best for 2011!!!