By Angela Hill

Former PA resident experiences New Zealand devastation

Feb 24, 2011 | 12:34 PM

When Eddie Simon looks around his adopted community of Christchurch, New Zealand, he said he sees utter chaos.

“What you saw on the news and all of the pictures depicting all of the damage and devastation, it does give you quite a picture, but when you see it in real life, it was, even now, it’s really hard, very emotional,” said Simon, who moved from Prince Albert about five years ago.

The 6.3-magnitude quake, which struck the city earlier this week, has caused buildings to crumble and collapse.

“A friend of mine, had owned CTV, which is much like CKBI, and his four-story building collapsed on him and all of his staff. So, we’ve lost friends, loved ones,” Simon said.

“There are bodies everywhere, there are people everywhere, there are abandoned cars everywhere, the sides of cliffs have collapsed. Everyone is in confusion.”

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He said he’s heard estimates that this earthquake has caused $16 billion to $20 billion in damage.

Simon wasn’t home when the ground shook, as he was visiting another part of the country with family.

He took two buses and a ferry to get back. His house was damaged, but his girlfriend was okay.

Using Prince Albert as an example, Simon said their home is the equivalent distance from the Diefenbaker Bridge to the south of the city, away from the epicentre.

Other houses in his neighbourhood fared worse. He said rockslides put boulders the size of trucks through homes.

“It was like something you’d see in a movie, but it’s real. Everything is so surreal, everybody is so numb. You cry and you cry and you pray and you pray, and you just don’t know what to do. It’s really hard. I’m trying to be strong here, but honestly it’s really hard,” Simon said.

The community is coming together to support each other with limited food and water supplies and to assist with clean up, he said.

Doctors that were in the city for a medical convention have offered their services for free, he said.
“Christchurch is definitely 100 per cent pulling together.”

However, with all of the damage it is difficult for people to know where to start.

“People are looking around and saying, ‘where do you begin.’”

Simon is just starting to clean up — walls crumbled and windows smashed during the shaking, so there is a lot of glass to get off of the floors.

It is difficult because there is no power or water right now.

That’s the reason he’s been unable to reply to the messages he has been receiving on Facebook and twitter. He does have a message for those people who are sending messages.

“I do want to let people know that we are okay, and thank people in Prince Albert for their support.”
If people want to help, Simon suggests they pray for them, or if they are able to send money to help with relief.

ahill@panow.com