more Christchurch quakes
 

Just came across this article in the local newspaper:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...7D32.DTL&tsp=1

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/1...it-twin-quakes

Yes. They were quite strong. We are still waiting on reports of the extent of the damage. Smaller shocks are continuing to roll through on a regular basis. We lost power to our home for just a couple of hours but the eastern suburbs have been warned that they should prepare for the possibility that they will not have power restored until tomorrow. It is threatening to be cold in Chch tonight, so that won't be a pleasant prospect.
Rob.

My husband just emailed me (he works in Dunedin) and told me that he even felt it down there.
As a native San Franciscan who has been through a number of strong earthquakes, you have my sympathies.

We were in Arthur's Pass and didn't feel a thing. I just heard on the news this very second that 100 more buildings will need to come down after yesterday's aftershocks.

That's right, Mel. To put that in perspective, though, many of that 100 were already on the precarious list and had just not had a decision made about them, one way or the other.

An interesting aspect of this is emerging. It appears that much of the indecision about whether or not a building is to be demolished arises from delay on the part of the insurer in deciding if it wants to pay for the repair or meet the cost of demolition and rebuilding. If a supervening authority steps in and orders the demolition of the building to speed up the process of gaining access to surrounding buildings, the insurer may be obliged to pay only the indemnity value of the building, and not the demolition and replacement cost. This is, surely, a real incentive to the insurer to delay making a decision for as long as possible, thereby increasing the frustration for the building owner, the tenants in that building and the owners and tenants of all of the adjacent properties who are being inconvenienced by the delay in gaining access.

The events of the last nine months in Chch are bringing home to everyone the importance of reading the fine print in every clause of the insurance policy.

Rob.