Ed Lines: Kiwi spirit strong in Chch

IT IS difficult to know what to say as Christchurch continues to be pounded by aftershocks and earthquakes.
As Northlanders, we see it on television, or read about it on our emails, tweets or texts.
Unless we have friends or family in Christchurch, many of us remain disengaged, as the aftershocks roll on, and, indeed, life goes on here.
Surely there is empathy, though. Imagine if our region was still cleaning up from last winter's floods, still in recovery mode, never knowing when the next flood would hit.
Northern Advocate reporter Joseph Aldridge - who has family in Christchurch - was near the city's blocked-off "red zone" when the bigger of yesterday's two shocks hit.
Joseph made an interesting observation - Christchurch people seemed to relax relatively quickly after the quake, no doubt experienced enough to be able to gauge when the rumbling had ceased and it was safe.
But Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker was moved to describe the situation as "very, very scary".
 Perhaps he was influenced by the knowledge that, had the "red zone" not been empty because of its evacuation status, buildings that collapsed yesterday might have resulted in more tragedy than Christchurch would be able to handle right now.
Joseph also observed that locals began dealing with the practicalities of the shock pretty quickly.
He told his fellow Advocate reporter Lindy Laird that it appeared not all the central city had come to a standstill after the big 2.20pm shake.
"I saw diggers and cranes still working in the city but as we got over to the east side of town we saw how bad it was."
There the ground had turned to slush in suburbs where residents have only just cleaned up from last time.
Joseph said the streets were full of bubbling mud and liquefaction, and water was rising up from the ground.
"People were already walking down roads with spades and other tools to start clearing the liquefaction away.
"It was hard to see how bad the roads underneath were. Some of the streets were rivers."
If it hasn't already, quake fatigue must have set in, in some areas. Perhaps another wave of residents will decide "enough" and leave.
Who can blame them?
For those that stay, I offer my utmost admiration for their embodiment of the Kiwi spirit that enables us, when times gets tough, to put one foot in front of the other, say "she'll be right" and soldier on.