I've just watched the late night news and have heard that there are up to 65 people dead, I only saw parts of this at work today and didn't realize how bad it was.. My love and support go out to those affected and to all the "kiwi's" in Oz who can't contact those at home My prayers are with you all

I heard about this on the news. everytime I hear about anything in NZ I always think about my Aunt and Uncle who live there. Luckily they live on the "other" island. But I do wonder if they felt anything.

I visited Christchurch a couple of years ago and remember it as a beautiful, charming city. My understanding is that the entire downtown area is basically gone now. The latest figures I heard wrere that 120 people had been pulled from the rubble, but it makes you wonder how many more there are, waiting for rescue. My heart goes out to the citizens of Christchurch.

I've heard about this on the news just today, and was shocked to come to know about such another serious disaster ... so many are happening around the world, either consecutively, or at the same time! It makes me wonder what's really happening to our Earth! Again, my prayers are always with all those who might be suffering as a consequence!

last news report said that out of 400 Ozzies in NZ 200 were unaccounted for,with up to 200 kiwis still in the rubble... Australia rescue workers are on the way wtih more to leave tomorrow, the rest of the world (USA, Japan, UN etc have offered assistance) The Queens has issued a statement of condolence (for the loss of life) kiwis are like family to Australians, we take the "piss" out of each other (bad jokes, the word "six" etc) but they bloody well don't deserve this...each time I see the news reports it just seems to get worse

I heard about that earthquake! How horrible! My thoughts and prayers are with those in NZ...an awful tragedy!

The good news is that as I type, there are 35 confirmed dead - not 65 as originally thought. Death is never good, but a death toll going down is always good news. Better it goes down than up. Ties between Australia and New Zealand are close (sheep jokes to the contrary) and in Queensland, where we have had Kiwis come and help us in our hour of need, we are suffering heartbreak once again. Enough with the disasters in the southern hemisphere please!!

I heard about this on the news when I woke up this morning. I didn't get to see any more information until I was at work. It is so horrible that this has happened. I told a friend that Australia and other places down there have suffered enough. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

My heart goes out to all who have suffered. I am also filled with admiration watching the Aussies and Kiwis. They've been taking punch after punch, and they just keep on going and helping each other out. I wish that circumstances weren't so horrible, but I am also glad that spirit is there.

Prayers and thoughts going out to all of NZ in the affected area, not to mention those in Australia that have gone through the floods and typhoon.

I've been watching the news too, words can say enough. My heart goes out to the poor souls who lost family and friends in the earthquake in New Zealand.... And now WA is being hammered by a Cyclone as bad as the one that hit the Cairns region of QLD.

I'm a little uneasy as my Mom and Brother live down there. Granted she lives on the opposite coast, but she does visit Christchurch occasionally. Though she SHOULD still be teaching (ie she's not on vacation). We use Skype to keep in contact and she hasn't been online in the past few days. It was the same thing that happened last year during a big quake. I was worried something happened, and it turned out they were in the middle of switching ISPs.

I hope you hear from your Mom and brother soon, Cain. My deepest condolences to the people of Christchurch, and everyone in New Zealand.

Awful news, my heart goes out to everyone who's affected by this tragedy. (I actually found out about it from this thread, talk about living under a rock! : )