DF Blog

Fuse: Earthquake Edition

March 2, 2011 By Julie

Well, this has been a very crazy few days. We have experienced some extreme highs and lows, we've seen the best and the worst that people have to offer.

On Tuesday the 22nd of February at 12.51pm a horrific earthquake measuring 6.3 ripped through Christchurch leaving destruction and devastation in its path. For those that haven't visited our offices, they're located in the central business district in the heart of the worst affected area.

Craig and I had just landed in Sydney when a text came in from Craig's wife alerting us to the news of the quake. Looking down on the city from their home in the hills behind Christchurch, all she could see was dust! Immediately our thoughts went to our fellow DF'ers and the rest of our family.

The next couple of hours were spent frantically trying to contact all of the people we hold near and dear and were relieved to find that everyone was safe and well. Unbelievable considering what we know now.
Day one was spent in a state of shock, everyone trying to get their heads around what had happened and get a handle on the exact situation. Many became fixed to their TV or transistor radio, or car radio for that matter, desperate for more news. People were sharing their experiences and comparing stories...

"There were bricks falling all over the place and the footpath behind me looked like it was surfing. But you would have been proud - not one tear and even managed to keep the undies clean." Elaine McNaughton

"I got out from under my desk and looked out the window and saw collapsed buildings on Cashel mall, plumes of smoke coming up." Daniel Wood

"We grabbed wallets and phones, left behind computers and cars, and started walking out of the city. First we heard nothing, then sirens, then helicopters." Robert Sinton

"It felt like being in a big bag of popcorn being shaken, things were just jumping around like they were weightless." Daniel Wood

Accounts of the quake from our staff have been patchy in places, as the shocking nature of the incident has blocked out some of the memories.

Day two, we started to move into recovery mode. We considered our options and the most efficient way to restore all of our databases and websites to full working condition was to get our hands on the servers... unfortunately these were located in our building, on the 6th floor, in our office in the heart of the cordon.

The definition of a good Systems Administrator has been forever changed. Little did Greg and James know, they would become legends - their feats of bravery talked about in office corridors and round server racks for centuries to come.

Greg and James decided they needed to get in. This was mission critical and they weren't taking no for an answer. As a precautionary measure they roped in my partner Ben to add a little brawn and some credibility (he donned his high-vis vest and hard hat).

James did some fast talking and somehow (maybe using Jedi mind tricks) managed to talk one of the policemen manning the cordon into escorting them to our office and allowing them to enter and retrieve the necessary hardware.

This was nerve racking stuff, the Christchurch CBD is a scary place at the moment - buildings everywhere are damaged, derelict and destroyed. Our 3 brave lads were in and out (including their fastest 6 floor stair climb ever!) in a matter of minutes, retrieving servers, back-up drives, iMacs and much more. A-MA-ZING!

Our tech support team: James, Greg, Robert and Craig now had all that was needed to get our show back on the road. Our ISP - Snap - have been incredibly helpful and generous, allowing us to very quickly get setup with new servers in their data centre.

From a business perspective, we're now almost fully operational although a lot of the local projects we've been working on may stall briefly while everyone gets back on their feet. If you're looking for ways to support us - give us work, the more the better.

Lack of water, power and sewage remain a problem in many homes and thousands have fled Christchurch in search of better facilities. New constructions like this have popped up all over town and there seems to be a bit of competition over who has built the best one.

We're the lucky ones, Digital Fusion has the luxury of being able to mobilise the business, we can work from almost anywhere, this is definitely not the case for everyone. We're also fortunate in that we are all safe and well, however we are saddened to report that Paul's sister in-law was last seen in the CTV building - they are still waiting for official news.

While Christchurch is New Zealand's 2nd largest city, it has the spirit and culture of a small town - as time goes on and the information filters through, we're sure there will be more connections to some of those that have tragically lost their lives. Our thoughts are with their families.

We're still formulating a medium term plan, but for the right now, we have many projects that we're continuing to progress. Email and the Task Manager are all fully functioning and our landline has been diverted to my cellphone - feel free to give me a call if there's anything you need.

At Digital Fusion we're really proud of our culture and the supportive environment we encourage - I'll finish with this quote from our receptionist Elaine McNaughton, talking about her work mates...

"I would like to express my grateful thanks to all of you for the way you all acted on Tuesday. It was a terrifying day for all of us. You have to be the kindest, most caring group of people I have ever been privileged to know. The way you all looked out for each other and me on Tuesday was amazing. No one felt alone and you all worked as a group ensuring no-one had to do the hard walk home by themselves. In fact my buddy group, consisting of Robert, James, Sam and myself even managed to have a few laughs on the way home. Certainly helped ease the tension in the stomach and helped me stay cool, calm and collected. Robert you are definitely the best team leader anyone could ask for."