[editor-surveyor]

Can we have a report from a reliable source?

[MediaMole]

Is a live stream of New Zealand TV3 via Australian Broadcasting reliable?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/abcnews24/

[Verginius Rufus]

According to Wikipedia (not always reliable) there may be upwards of 30 fatalities.

There have been some larger earthquakes in the vicinity lately: a 7.8 quake in July 2009 and a 7.1 quake in 2010.

I remember that one of the quakes caused damage to classical artifacts at a university on the south island, I think the one in Christchurch, but I don't remember if it was the 2009 quake or the 2010 quake.

[shaggy eel]

,,, long time no be in touch! Sorry for that. Well, don't believe any understatements on this quake... it's a horror story. Haiti was a tragedy but it's flashed across the TV in a blur and you think, "my God, what would happen if that hit us?" It has. What you especially need to know is NZL's sincere love and thanks for America being one of the first to step in with offers of help - which I'm sure we'll take you up on.

Go to http://www.stuff.co.nz for pictures and you'll get the feel of how things are on this [radio] site: http://www.radiolive.co.nz

Thanks for getting in touch Elliot.

Best wishes = John