New Zealand Earthquake Information
At 23:51:43 UTC on Monday, February 21, 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. This crippling earthquake has left more than 100 dead and several hundred remain missing. The worldwide NOLS community sends its thoughts and prayers to the people of New Zealand.
NOLS has five courses and nearly 50 students in the field in New Zealand at this time. NOLS New Zealand Headquarters located 10 kilometers west of Christchurch was not damaged. It is NOLS protocol to check-in with our base via satellite phone if the effects of an earthquake are experienced. No course has made a special contact with NOLS.
We have now spoken to all five courses (updated 2/28 7:40 am). None of the courses had felt the earthquake. NOLS staff have spoken with reliable contacts in all of the NOLS operating areas on the island and they all report no damage in their area.
We will be posting updates on this site as they become available.
The updates are listed newest to oldest immediately below this map.
Green areas indicate course areas. Blue dots are locations where NOLS staff have spoken with reliable contacts to determine current conditions.
Update 3/6/11 11:40 a.m. MT
To parents for NOLS New Zealand students: The earthquake has done significant damage to the downtown Central Business District of Christchurch. This area is currently in a state of emergency, and lodging in downtown Christchurch, including at the New Excelsior Backpackers, will not be an option for NOLS students when they return to the city following their course.
If your daughter or son had reservations in downtown Christchurch for the end of the course, we encourage you to look into alternate arrangements right away. There are two hotels near the airport, the Commodore Hotel and the Sudima Hotel. Both are hotels where NOLS students have stayed in the past. We know that both these locations are currently operational, and that we are able to drive to them. You may find more information about these locations here: http://www.commodore.net.nz/ and here: http://www.sudimachristchurch.co.nz/. These are the only hotels we will service with our bus after the course; other hotel arrangements other than these will require that the student take a taxi.
Once arrangements have been made for your student, you should email the information to [email protected] and it will be printed and delivered with any other mail your child has received. Students may also have the opportunity to check their personal email account before leaving the base.
Update 3/1/11 2:35 p.m. MT
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit Wellington, New Zealand last night. This was felt by many in the region, but there was no damage reported and no tsunamai warning was issued. Two NOLS courses are in the region. NZS-1 is sea kayaking in Marlborough Sound and NZS-2 is in transit between their sea kayaking and hiking sections. Neither course called in.
We have spoken with colleagues at Outward Bound New Zealand, located on Marlborough Sounds. They report that the entire area is fine.
UPDATE 2/28/11 7:45 a.m. MT
The instructors of NZS-3 called in today to confirm logistics for their field switch to sea kayaking on the 1st. They reported that all on the course are fine and that they did not feel the earthquake.
To date we have spoken to all of our field courses. All have reported that they are fine and did not feel the earthquake.
UPDATE 2/26/11 9:20 a.m. MT
The instructors of NZS-2 called in today to confirm logistics for their field switch to hiking on the 1st. They reported that all on the course are fine and that they did not feel the earthquake.
To date we have spoken to four of our five field courses who called in for logistics reasons or were contacted during a field switch (NZB, NZS-1, NZS-2, NZS-4). None of these four courses felt the earthquake.
We will have contact with NZS-3 during their scheduled field switch in 3 days on March 1
UPDATE: 2/23/11 8:48 p.m. MT
The instructors of NZS-4 called in today to confirm logistics for their re-supply on the 1st. They reported that all on the course are fine and that they did not feel the earthquake.
Our New Zealand headquarters also received an email from a family who live on the Clarence River, where NZS-3 is canoeing. The family did not feel the earthquake.
UPDATE: 2/22/11 8:49 p.m. MT
NOLS New Zealand staff have been calling colleagues, businesses and government offices in locations that have proximity to our courses. In all cases there has been no damage or impact in their locations. The blue dots on the map indicate the locations of those contacted.
UPDATE: 2/22/11 7:52 p.m. MT
The instructors from the NZB (New Zealand Backpacking Course) called our NZ base to request assistance for an evacuation of a student with a sprained ankle. The instructors reported that they did not feel the earthquake. The injured student is T. Baumgarten and will be evacuated at the reration on February 26.
UPDATE: 2/22/11 7:52 p.m. MT
The instructors from the NZB (New Zealand Backpacking Course) called our NZ base to request assistance for an evacuation of a student with a sprained ankle. The instructors reported that they did not feel the earthquake. The injured student is T. Baumgarten and will be evacuated at the reration on February 26.
UPDATE: 2/22/11 5:30 p.m. MT
We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding at this time. We understand the difficulty of having to wait for positive confirmation that all is fine. However, there is no evidence that the areas in which our courses are located have been impacted. The reported crises have been in the central business district of Christchurch. Given the terrain that our groups are in and the activity that they are participating in we don’t believe that they are even aware that there was an earthquake. We can’t simply call in because the emergency communication devices are not turned on. We have sent text messages to the satellite phones, but that functionality is inconsistent. The groups have the ability to call us if they have an emergency and they have not.
Our courses are located in remote wilderness. While we know the general location of a group we don’t know specifically where they are located unless they have recently been in contact with us. The pace at which a course travels can dictate their progress. Weather, high water in rivers, snowpack depth and other variables can often have a course alter its intended route. As a result while we know the general location of a course it isn’t as simple as driving in to check on them. In fact we can’t drive into the wilderness regions.
Our colleagues at Outward Bound in Marlborough Sounds report that they did not feel the earthquake.
We’ll continue to update this as we have more information to share.
UPDATE: 2/22/11 5:26 p.m. MT
NOLS staff in New Zealand have been watching for reports of earthquake damage in the towns near where our courses are located. There have been no reports of structural damage or other issues related to the earthquake in these areas. As reported the NZS-1 course did not experience the earthquake. The course was in the process of switching sections between canoeing and sea kayaking. NOLS staff phoned our bus driver and was able to check in with this course.
Our base facility was not damaged, It is located in the town of Templeton, 10 kilometers due west from downtown Christchurch. Our facility is fully functional with power, internet, phones, and water. Older multi-story structures in the downtown area constitute most of the damage.
Each of our courses is equipped with a satellite phone to be used by the instructors to request assistance if necessary. Our standard procedure is that the phones are turned off unless the instructors need to make a call. In anticipation of earthquakes our procedure in New Zealand is if a course experiences an earthquake they are to call the NOLS New Zealand base. All courses have a secondary emergency device as a backup to the satellite phone, a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) or Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). These are registered devices to NOLS so if they are activated we are called by the New Zealand Rescue Coordination Center immediately.
Our next scheduled contact with the courses is as follows:
NZB – The course is backpacking and will receive a re-supply on February 26
NZS-2 – The course will be switching from sea kayaking to backpacking on March 1.
NZS-3 – The course will be switching from canoeing to sea kayaking on March 1.
NZS-4 – The course is backpacking and will receive a re-supply on March 1.
The courses are located in remote wilderness, but there is the off chance that they come across others who are informed of the earthquake. If that is the case the course might call out earlier.
We have received queries from parents about what is next on their child’s course. The courses have a sequence of sections that combine into a full semester. The order of these sections is as follows:
NZB – This is a 30-day course that is entirely backpacking.
NZS-1 – Cultural, canoeing, sea kayaking (in progress) and backpacking
NZS-2 – Cultural, sea kayaking (in progress), backpacking and sailing
NZS-3 – Cultural, canoeing (in progress), sea kayaking and backpacking
NZS-4 – Cultural, backpacking (in progress), sea kayaking and sailing
UPDATE: 2/22/11 12:50 p.m. MT
| New Zealand Course Rosters | ||
| NZS-1
Students: Staff: |
NZS-2
Students: Staff: |
NZS-3
Students: Staff: |
| NZS-4
Students: Staff: |
NZB
Students: Staff: |
|
UPDATE: 2/22/11 12:02 p.m. MT
The following map shows the operating area that each of the courses are currently in.
(Click on map to enlarge.)
UPDATE: 2/22/11 11:50 a.m. MT
We have heard from all our NOLS New Zealand intown staff. Our facilities there have not suffered any damage.
Based on the location of the earthquake epicenter, we do not expect that any NOLS courses currently in the field in New Zealand felt the effects of the earthquake.
This is the status of our courses that are currently in the field.
Semester in New Zealand
NZS-1 (January 27-April 13, 2011) – They confirmed yesterday they did not feel the earthquake. They are currently sea kayaking in Marlborough Sounds.
NZS-2 (January 27-April 13, 2011) – Currently they are sea kayaking in Marlborough Sounds. They have not called in and we suspect they did not feel quake.*
NZS-3 (February 6-April 23, 2011) – Currently they are canoeing on the Clarence River. They have not called in and we suspect they did not feel quake.*
NZS-4 (February 6-April 23, 2011) – Currently they are backpacking in the Nelson Lakes National Park. They have not called in and we suspect they did not feel quake.*
New Zealand Backpacking
NZB (February 10-March 11, 2011) – Currently they are backpacking in the Ahuriri region southwest of Christchurch. They have not called in and we suspect they did not feel quake.*
(*It is NOLS protocol to check-in with our base via satellite phone if the effects of an earthquake are felt.)
UPDATE: 2/22/11 7:30 a.m MT
Yesterday we had contact with NZS-1, one of the four semester sections currently in the field. They did not feel the earthquake.
Topics: "New Zealand Earthquake", New Zealand
