November 2016 – CHRISTCHURCH, NZ – A powerful 7.8–magnitude earthquake rocked New Zealand’s South Island on Sunday, triggering high waves and a tsunami warning as people fled buildings in a panic. The quake struck around 50 kilometers (around 30 miles) northeast of the city of Christchurch, the US Geological Survey recorded, while waves of 2.49 meters above usual tide levels were measured near the epicenter by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). The country’s entire east coast is at threat of dangerous waves that could arrive immediately, the New Zealand Civil Defense said on Twitter in an advisory. “Move inland or to higher ground immediately,” the warning said.
And at least three aftershocks hit near South Island, the USGS said, some with a magnitude as high as 6.2. “This is the strongest [earthquake] I’ve ever felt,” Tamara Hunt told CNN. She was with her husband at their home in Whanganui when the earthquake struck. “It started off so small, like the cat moving in the bed, but then it started building and I had to run to the door. Stuff in the house was falling over and the doors were swaying really bad,” she said. “Then we decided to get out, and that’s when we saw our pool had lost a lot of water. The earthquake went on for two minutes.”
The city of Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in 2011, which killed 185 people and injured thousands. It reduced swathes of the city’s historic area to rubble. “The land has been very peaceful for many, many months. So this is bringing back all the rare memories,” Chet Wah, owner of Designer Cottage B&B in Christchurch, told CNN. “I just checked with all the guests. They are alright. It is scary. It’s going to be a long night.”
The USGS initially reported the quake’s magnitude at 7.4 at a depth of just 10 kilometers — shallow enough to cause serious destruction to the immediate surrounding area. It later revised the quake strength to 7.8, but changed its depth to 23 (14.2 miles) kilometers, giving more of a buffer between the epicenter and the Earth’s surface. New Zealand is regularly hit by earthquakes as it sits in a “collision zone” between the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. It is part of the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” where many earthquakes and volcano eruptions occur. –CNN
The Extinction Protocol 
Anybody know where Alvin is!? Is he ok??
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I’m fine George. Thanks for asking.
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Wonderful! Take care and have a great 2017. I miss your articles though 😦
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Good to hear you’re fine but I’m wondering if you’re done with TEP?
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The blogging aspect has come to a close.
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I think Alvin had everyone worried last year too!:)
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Well, ……just because Alvin has chosen his direction for the future…we are all still here.
So assuming he allows us to voice our opinions………….lets give it a go.
What the hell is going on>?………………..yes with Trump.??????????/
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We flew to Auckland the morning of the earthquake. The quake occurred later that night but wasn’t felt where we were. However we were leaving on the morning train to Wellington. We were able to take the train to Hamilton and were bussed the rest of the way because the train tunnels near Wellington were flooded. We arrived in Wellington in the fury of a storm with 130 k winds and unbelievable rain. We couldn’t enter the train station where the bus stopped because it had been quite damaged by the quake and broken glass littered the sidewalk outside. The downtown was empty of people, streets were roped off and a sense of disquiet ruled. That evening we went next door to our hotel to have dinner and the whole place started to shake, rattle and roll. Our poor server was freaked out by it. Because to South Island railway was damaged beyond repair, we had to change our plans to take it to Christchurch where we were to attend a wedding. We managed to get a flight out that afternoon and while waiting for our plane at the Wellington airport the whole building started the shaking again. Since the winds were still high, all planes leaving did not line up one after the other on the runway but had to find a spot on a side runway to sit side by side until there time to leave was called and then they preceded to the end of the runway for takeoff. It was quite a start to our first visit to New Zealand!
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Today, the subject of earthquakes is very timely. The average magnitude increases every year. And many climatic factors tangle up and strengthen each other. One can debate why this is happening, but it’s no longer possible to deny this since it’s happening all over the place. Maybe, it’s better to give some thought to what we should all do with these climatic changes and how to build relationships among people so that those who suffer as a result of such incidents don’t feel doomed and unwanted. And even if it was necessary to move because of these events (and this is already happening), that there wouldn’t be conflicts between both sides, but just the opposite would happen – people would be able to solve all issues of life-sustaining activities in a tranquil atmosphere and could live together peacefully and on friendly terms. The team from The Climate Control Global Project have developed an earthquake map ( https://allatra.tv/en/earthquakes ), which monitors all earthquakes taking place on the planet. They try to monitor and inform the public about climatic events all over the world. It would be great if people would unite on the basis of common human values, so that everyone could feel at home, like they are at a friend’s house, even if nature forces people to change their usual place of residence.
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