22 Feb 2011 Earthquake

12.51pm on 22 Feb 2011.
I was sitting in the office, front of  my computer.
Then it started shaking with a thundering noise. Everyone ducked under their desks.
It felt like at least 5 minutes.

I could hear people crying, trying to call their family, and a lot of "oh my god"s.

This is the moment that Christchurch residents would never forget.

154 lives so far have been claimed by this tragic event. There could be more.

What would normally take 10-15 minutes to get home took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to get home.
My mum was stressed out and shaken. Everything from the cupboards and bookshelves have fallen, the piano (that huge thing) moved from the wall about 50cm and its leg is broken.

Mum's favourite china and glasses are broken also. But this is nothing compared to what others went through. We had no power until 9.30pm that night. We immediately turned on the TV and saw the horrific images and they brought us tears.

I am glad that I'm still alive, we have water and power at home, mum's safe, brother's safe in Dunedin. My kitty is OK, just little bit stressed.

The whole CBD has been cordoned off and no one is sure when the city will be back to normal. It will never be the same. The horrible images and this event will be engraved in our hearts and minds forever.

It's now been one week since the earthquake. At 12.51pm, the whole nation will stop to observe two minute silence as a sign of unity and to respect the quake victims.