Liquefaction

Today, after the news about a new strong earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand I am baffled by a term I had never heard of before. Liquefaction. Turns solid material into quicksand! What I understand is that already saturated material like dense sand and tar (bitumen), under pressure, can turn into a liquid form. Saturation from floods and water pipes that only had an emergency-repair after the quake in February. Pressure of course by the magnitude 6.0 earthquake.

I read on twitter that people warn each other to keep pets indoors: they might drown! In the street! To me this reminds me of watching a digitally enhanced science fiction movie... But this is real...
Again, amazement about the resilience of the people. In all the chaos and fear with many aftershocks, I read a tweet of a woman sick of picking up the pieces. She thinks of putting velcro on all items in the kitchen that could fall. Many tweets from concerned rugby fans, arguing that their World Cup (RWC), soon to be held in New Zealand, should be held somewhere else.

As the night falls, more than 10.000 houses will be without electricity and on little water. In 1 degree Celcius...