Kerryman emerges unscathed from earthquake
Wednesday September 08 2010
A KERRY man experienced first-hand the powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake that rocked the South Island of New Zealand in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Barry O'Regan from Sneem, who lives in Darfield which was the epicentre of the quake, told The Kerryman of the fright he experienced when he was woken up to "shaking and noise."
"We were probably 2km from where the earthquake hit. Obviously being close by it was very loud and the house was shaking. It happened at 4.30am. We were not sure what was happening; we were waking up to shaking and noise. It was so loud and everything was shaking," said Mr O'Regan who added that the tremors lasted about a minute.
With Mr O'Regan at the time were his New Zealand fiancée Tracey Smart and their two-year-old son, Oliver. Ms Smart's brother Brendan had just returned from a night out an hour before the earthquake and managed to sleep soundly through the commotion. In an odd twist, he had spent the night drinking After Shocks, Mr O'Regan said.
After establishing what had happened, Mr O'Regan rang his parents, Barry and Mary in Sneem, to reassure them of his and his family's well-being.
Damage caused in the area by the earthquake has been extreme. "Roads have been uplifted and roads have been shifted 30 metres high and to the left. Fields have been uprooted for 13 km," said Mr. O'Regan, who has been living in New Zealand for the past three years.
"I work in a bar with an adjoining offlicence. Everything was destroyed; there was two feet deep of bottles and wine," said Mr O'Regan will marry Ms. Smart next year and is a member of the Christchurch GAA Club.
- GEMMA KAVANAGH
