Hidden faults

Well, that our house in South Brighton is right on the edge of a fault plane is a little worrying. But by a very lucky break, our place is, I think, on about the fourth blue contour line from the saddlepoint - so only about a twenty centimetre rise. We have added protection against any stray tsunamis.

I was at work when the quake hit, but my parents were home with the kids. They reported that the house felt like it jumped up. Well, it did. About eight inches. Not a good enough standing jump for the NBA, but pretty good for an 80 year old weatherboard place on piles on a sand dune.

The fault plane's extension offshore helps to explain all the aftershocks I've been enjoying from that direction.

In rather depressing news, Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce head Peter Townsend reckons most of the central business district will need to be bulldozed along with about twelve thousand homes.

But I've also heard rumours of some really cool rebuilding initiatives on the boil; I'm really hoping they pan out.