On November 14, 2016, New Zealanders woke to terrifying earth rumbles and dove for cover under beds, tables, and in doorways, as two earthquakes merged into a massive magnitude 7.8 quake at 12:02 a.m. Severe shaking lasted about 120 seconds near Christchurch, in Kaikoura, a tourist destination at the top of the South Island, and 30 seconds in Wellington, the nation's capital, at the bottom of the North Island. The rupture was 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) deep, and this relatively shallow, complex earthquake resulted in at least six ruptured faults and dozens of damaged buildings. More than 1,200 tourists and local residents were eventually evacuated by sea and air from the whale-watching town of Kaikoura. And many people experienced shattered nerves, as thousands of aftershocks were felt throughout New Zealand, and even now, weeks later. The quakes generated a tsunami and an evacuation of coastal areas, and 4-meter (about 13 feet) waves threatened homes. Up to 100,000 landslides were triggered, and these blocked roads and railway lines. That week, aftershocks measured as high as 6.2 in magnitude, and a ferocious spring storm caused floods and massive landslides. Roads were cut off and towns were isolated. There were two deaths as a direct result of the 7.8 earthquake: one person was killed when a home in Kaikoura collapsed and another died of a heart attack. Infrastructures were destroyed, and power, water, sewage, and communication systems were knocked out. Throughout the country, schools were closed; national exams were canceled; and many businesses and buildings, railway lines, and even major highways far north of the Kaikoura quake were damaged and closed. Kaikoura's State Highway 1, which provides the community with its livelihood, supplies, and tourists, will remain closed and under construction for months to come as the region remains in a state of emergency. November 14th has been a reminder that Kiwis should be prepared for any future disaster, according to Acting Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee, which raises the question: Were we better prepared this time? It seems that lessons learned from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in New Zealand helped disabled people, including those with visual impairments, in the recent, November 2016, earthquakes. Access to information and support In our earlier research about the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, we noted that those with impaired vision had a hard time obtaining appropriate information about what was happening. Anecdotal reports from the recent quakes are that radio stations on the South Island did an excellent job of keeping people informed. Civil Defence authorities, as they did in 2011, provided New Zealand Sign Language interpreters at its media briefings. Personal and agency support was identified in our earlier research as being crucial to survival and coping for research participants with impaired vision. On November 17, 2016, the Ministries of Social Development and Civil Defence, as they did in 2011, launched a free telephone helpline to provide a one-stop source of information on services and assistance that was available to people affected by the earthquakes. This helpline is a desired response to post-earthquake needs, but no mention was made of disability. The Facebook page of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) was used for people to check in on each other, a new development since the 2010 and 2011 quakes. There was also a nationwide Facebook page designed for this purpose. One District Council has proposed that a registry of disabled persons be established to ensure assistance is made available to those who need it in an emergency, such as those who are vision impaired and live alone, those who rely on electricity for medical reasons, those who are hearing impaired and cannot access news transmitted by radio, those who are physically disabled and unable to travel during an emergency, to name a few. …
Read full abstract