Just 10 days before a Winnipeg woman and her two children are set to visit family in New Zealand, disaster struck.
Lynley Davidson woke up Sunday morning to news of a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit New Zealand's South Island.
READ MORE: Powerful earthquake strikes New Zealand, killing 2 people
Davidson immediately reached out to family, including her mother, who is in her 80s.
“She thought she was never going to get to see me, today, when that earthquake was hitting,” she said. “It was very emotional. I just said, ‘Don’t worry, we will be there in 10 days. It’s only 10 days’.”
Davidson is from a town called Rangiora, north of Christchurch. The quake brought back memories of the magnitude-6.3 earthquake that struck Christchurch in 2011, destroying much of the downtown area and killing 185 people. That quake was one of New Zealand's worst disasters, causing an estimated $25 billion in damage.
“Knowing how much damage had been done before, I couldn’t believe it. You know that people’s houses are going to be affected. There’s going to be landslides, major devastation,” she said.
Davidson said stores and bridges were just finished being built earlier this year, and now this.
“I was scared for their safety, yes. I’m still concerned for them just knowing how many aftershocks they’ve got to live through today. It’s not easy for them,” she said.
Tear down and clean up after the 2011 earthquake took four years, said Davidson. It was only in the last 12 months that they began rebuilding, she added.
“I’ve talked to all my family, but a lot of people were told to move to higher ground. It was close to midnight, their time, so they just got in their cars and drove to towns that were higher ground and they’re camping out in grocery store parking lots,” said Davidson.
Three weeks after the 2011 earthquake happened, Davidson, who was the president of the Down Under Club of Winnipeg at the time, helped to fundraise close to $15,000 for those affected.
Davidson said she’s unsure if she’ll be doing any fundraising this time around, as it’s too early to tell how much damage there is. The New Zealand government has to ask for help before anything can be done, she added.
With three generations of her family living in New Zealand, Davidson said she is happy they are all safe and that their homes are intact at this point.
“We’re just so grateful that everyone is safe and sound and we appreciate all prayers,” she said.
- With files from CTV Winnipeg's Shelden Rogers and Nick Perry, The Associated Press
