How scary was the christchurch new zealand earthquake?

Answer 1

Like most natural disasters, some people find it scarier than others. Most people who were in the 2010 Christchurch/Canterbury earthquake found it terrifying. The biggest factor was probably that it was so unexpected.

There is a lot to take into account when finding out how scary an event like this one was. How badly you were affected, How strong the shaking felt, and age, for example. However, everyone is different, and there's no set rule as to how people should feel.

It isn't easy to imagine. To quote a 15 year old girl, Georgia, of Rangiora:

"I was woken by a loud rumbling sound, similar to a freight train, and was wide awake and sitting up by time the shaking started. I literally threw myself out of bed and crouched close beside it, keeping my head down and covered, holding on. I could tell that it was big, the shaking was really strong. The noise was incredible - the rumbling of the quake, the house creaking and groaning, my cockatiel flapping and things falling all through the house made hearing each other nearly impossible... As the shaking reached its peak, the streetlights, which up until that point had been on and allowed me to actually see, went out. That was rather scary, as it left me wondering how much worse the quake was going to get... Eventually the shaking stopped, and I slowly lifted my head. I couldn't believe what had just happened - the scene I witnessed in my own room is the kind of thing you see in movies, but never expect to happen to you."

Georgia's full story, and those of others, are on the Christchurch Earthquake 2010 website (link in related links).