Looking East...

... towards Christchurch. For two days and nights there were no trains. It was so quiet.

There are big stories, tragic stories coming out of Christchurch, but let me tell you a small story from the suburbs that will stick in my memory for a long while.

Christchurch is a modern western city. It has a remarkable water supply that comes from very deep artesian wells. The water is so pure that it doesn't need any sort of treatment. But for two days after Tuesday's earthquake 80% of the city was without water (it is now 50%). For many people there is no water in the taps for drinking, washing or flushing the toilet. Drinking water is available from tankers at local schools. It can be a long walk to the nearest school, and the queues are so long it can take hours to get the water. A woman was telling me about it on the phone today. She had good news. They had discovered that a public drinking fountain was still working and they had got water from it. It needed to be filtered and boiled, but she said cheerfully, "It's water and we are glad of it."