Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand

@eric I was absolutely appalled at your comments regarding this entire situation. You clearly have no understanding of what happens in the event of a natural disaster. As you said yourself, you have never been through an earthquake. Well, I have and they can be terrifying. I live in California, the state of earthquakes. For you to even consider that ANYONE would just "crawl" to get to their kids is a disgusting thought and extremely disrespectful and rude to even mention, especially since you say you don't even know Mark that well.

Furthermore, when you said that you don't know whether you would hug your children in the doorway or if you would insist that your wife join you, speaks levels of possibly the type of person YOU are. Why wouldn't you hug your children and comfort them through a very scary ordeal or that you have your wife near you to protect them. I think this says a bit about you as a person. And if you're not prepared to have others shed some light on your own character, than you shouldn't have posted your message in the first place.

Next, let me ask you a question Eric...you claim to be a very busy person, right? Well lets just assume for a moment that you own an authoritative educational site like Affilorama (I doubt you do though) and you have thousands of subscribers (again, I doubt that you do) and you had potentially hundreds, of people and possibly thousands asking if everyone is safe and to make sure that you didn't get hurt. You talked about efficiency; do you think that anyone who is as successful as Mark would sit and write an email to every single person that sent him a worried email one at a time? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Ummm, don't you remember that there was a major earthquake in his town? Don't you think he has a much better use of his time than sitting and emailing each individual person?

So, Eric, why don't you just ask yourself this question, what would you do? I doubt that if your home town was rocked by a major earthquake or any other natural disaster, for that matter, you would sit and write out hundreds of individual emails. You would send a brief email to your entire list, and create one message for all those that care to listen and watch.

It doesn't appear that you read Mark's email message, since it in no way suggested any "commercial gain" of any sort. Shocking photos? If those are not shocking photo's, than what are they? Just photo's? I don't think so. Should he have used "crazy photo's"? Whatever Eric!

You sound like you are a man that has a bitter taste from years of poor marketing and hasn't reached the level of success that you would want to be at and this is your only way to backlash out against those that have been extremely successful and work very hard. Why don't you do a little more research on Mark Ling and what he is all about before you start making these accusations and gross distortions from the actual truth. Do a search for his name and you will see that there are over 7 million search results for his name. Have you tried your name lately?

So, the next time you decide to attack a top guru out there, maybe ask yourself some questions and really think about what you are really saying. What would you do if you were in his shoes? Given that he is extremely busy, how else was he going to communicate with his list. Did he create traffic to his site? Absolutely! What's the big deal? Was he selling anything within his message. NO! He was being a true friend and sharing his experience with his worried subscribers. Do you have a blog? What do you write on your blog? If you were in a natural disaster, would you write a blog entry that would go out to your list? I think that if you were completely honest with yourself, your answer would be a clear, YES!

Eric, if this is how you choose to spend your time attacking someone going through a disaster, you need to pick a different profession. In a world that lives and breathes on information, you completely missed the message here. If this disaster had happened in another town and he was not affected by the earthquake, then I would agree with how you are feeling. But this is clearly not the case. I hope you learn the think before your actions. Trust me, you will get a lot more respect from others. I have gained even more trust in Mark through his thoughtful and heart-felt message and have lost all respect in you. So let me ask you one last question Eric....Who ended up with the higher degree of trust and respect? I think you already know that answer.

P.S. @markling I am very sorry you had to read that message Eric wrote. My Dad always told me to respect those with honesty, integrity and good intentions. You clearly share those characteristics. Thank you very much for your message and I'm glad that everyone is ok. :-)

Wow Eric Smith is certainly very upset about the link in your email.

Can I just say that I am on your list. I chose to click through to the blog.

Am I some misguided fool who clicks blindly following what Mark Ling says? I think not!

I am also on Ewen Chia's, Mike Filsaime's, Gabor Olah's, Potpiegirl's, Travis Sago's ( etc ad nauseum) lists. I do not blindly click their links either.

The earthquake in Christchurch and attachment to people we perceive we know, is the reason the link was clicked.

I personally am glad Mark, his family and the whole of the Affilorama team were not injured. I was pleased to hear from Mark and don't care whether Eric thinks it was self serving. Eric is a person who has done WAY TOO MUCH IM. He seems to believe that everyone is self serving, perhaps his jaded opinion relates to what he would do given the same situation.

Sharon

Thanks for sharing what happened to you, your family and staff. A very vulnerable place to be. Stay well.

Mark,
Glad everything is O.K. with you and the family. Amazed at the devastation and thank you for sharing. Hopefully the repair process will be swift.

@eric ...you're normally too nice and too busy to post things like that.

It's a true shame that in your quiet time you totally destroyed your nice guy reputation.

@ AffiliateRiches - well said!!!!

hello iam sorry to hear that your city got destroyed but its just fine when yous are alright

Glad to hear you and your family are safe. Take good care, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Very glad to hear that everyone is okay!

lucky guy mark, at least theres a few years of construction work for local builders and landscapers!

it's a miracle how there's no deaths with a massive earthquake like this took place !

i have this cousin who lives in Christchurch , he was @ a Mosque when this happened , he told us that he felt nothing , he prayed and went out to find the catastrophe as it is !

P.S : me and my cousin are Muslims :)

Thanks for sharing the video, it is amazing. Glad to hear everyone is alright.

AffiliateRiches, you spoke the words we all want to say to E.S. Mark Ling is the best thing to happen to me in the years I've been longing to follow this passion of mine.

You wrote, "Eric, if this is how you choose to spend your time attacking someone going through a disaster, you need to pick a different profession."

Maybe he'd make a good undertaker.

Enough said! Back to my lessons! :-)

I am so glad to hear you guys are all safe , yourself as well as your love ones.
You said it Mark, when it comes to Mother Nature's acts it does'nt matter who you are
or what you do, what's important is how wise and strong you become in these situations.
Courage to you all and remember during the rought times, that , *This to, will pass !*
Danielle

Re-@eric - I think this guy is entitled to his views, for the sole reason of upholding freedom of speech. He has however voiced the moral high ground and in my experience people who do this very rarely practice it, he may be the exception, but I somehow doubt it. I feel Mark at a vulnerable emotional time has fell into the trap of a tactic which is thousands of years old in that "If you can't strike the man strike his heart". Mark you did what any parent who loves his family would do. As regards Mark trying to gain mileage out of the story it was one of the few places you could get any information on the disaster with the exception of one or two Youtube videos in the immediate aftermath. We had very little coverage on UK national news which I found astounding considering the gravity of the situation.

Glad to hear you and you family are safe Mark.

I followed the Wiki link, its a very good overview. So far the quake has faded from our news but it doesn't mean that it has faded from our prayers.
bless you, stay safe, j

Very happy to hear that you and your family are safe and sound.May God bless you all.

God Bless you and your loved ones Mark. Glad to know you and family is ok.

I am thankful that there were no serious injuries. The NZ people are special.

Glad to hear yourself,families staff and families are all safe. As you said life is important , much more than possessions. We were in a earthquake in the late sixties in the wheatbelt are here in west australia and that was a 6.4 quake and was very frightening so can appreciate what you are all going through. Best of luck too you all and stay safe.

Mark, I know God is on your side, your a very very good man I believe in you and trust you, God Speed take care of your family,staff & freinds were behind you 1000% all you guys are in my prayers!

Mark, Godspeed to your family,staff & freinds I know God has you guys in his hands I'm relieved that everybody is fine, you guys are in my prayers and my church also so tell everyone were my family is pulling for a quick recovery you and your country.

Darryl Hudson

OMG thank god that you and your wife and child is o.k. that shock me so much but thank god your o.k. if something happen to you and you wife and child i would not know what to feel but just bin on my knees and pray for the three of you but yes thank god your o.k god bless the three of you.

I live in christchurch. Check out my profile on facebook...

Mark and those in Christchurch,

I can only imagine how terrible it must be to hold your family together in the pitch dark and try to keep them safe during an Earthquake. I pray for everyone affected by this event.

I am glad that you and as it seems everyone in the area are alive and picking up the pieces. My family and church will keep you all in our prayers that God's grace will carry you through this trying time.

Thank you for sending us this message to let us know that you guys are ok.

James Hess

Hey Mark,

This quake was massive. I was in the one in Mexico City and know how bad a quake can be. It is good to know that a Higher Force protected you and your family. May your hometown recover fast.

Best,

Rik

Even though I'm new to affilorama, when I heard about the earthquake my heart and prayer's went out to you for your safety, and thank God it was accomplished. We pray for a quick recovery for your city.

Mark,

I just listened to and watched the damages
shown on your video and it's a devastating
scenery.

II am very sorry about what happened in your
hometown of Christchurch and at the same
time, what a great rrelief to learn that you and
your family are doing ok!

Yours friendly, Mario Alexandre from Orlando, FL
[email protected]

.

Very happy to know you and your family are safe and secure. I hope that harmony and joy is restored to all, soon.

Thanks for sharing this with us, Mark. I don't subscribe to the major cable channels here in the US, and I haven't seen much coverage about this event on my local and national news networks (which is quite shocking, as the force of this quake was equal to the one in Haiti!). So happy to know your family is doing fine. Amazing that your house suffered no structural damage...hope the clean-up goes well.

OMG...Thanks to God that you are O.K Mark..Your Wife your Son your Staff And your Place. I wish if I could really help. But I'm really Glad that Everything passed O.K. God bless you and Save you all from all the harm.

It is great to see that you and your family are safe.
We in the North Island are fealing for you all with what you are going through with the earthquake and all the after shocks. If there is anything I can do to help with your Business until Christchurch gets back on its feet please don't hesitate to ask.

It's just over a week after the event of the Canterbury earthquake and OMG, I can honestly say that it was the most terrifying time of my entire life...and would you all like to know something, I have always considered myself to be mentally tough. Not now, for the past week I have been walking around on legs that behave like jello and find it very difficult to focus.
The thing that struck me about this quake was the sheer violence of it and the noise it created and the devastation it wrought on buildings. According to geologist , this was because it was so close to the surface, ranging from 5 to 30k in depth. I live west of Christchurch, about 15k from the epicentre and my house suffered very little visual damage ( structural damage unknown as yet ) From viewing the map of the quakes and aftershocks, my house seems to be situated right on the fault line because when the quake and it s aftershocks hit, the hits were dead on the area where my house stands.
The miracle is, my daughter and I are still alive and my house is still standing...only the brick chimney and subsequent damage from its collapse is evident..
The mystery is, where the quake did the most damage, in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch...about 70k from the epicentre and Christchurch City itself...about 50k from epicentre is really difficult to understand. The explaination given was the different types of surfaces that the houses were built on. Where mine and others around me are built on riverbed, the eastern suburbs are built on sandy surfaces. What is even more frightening, Christchurch people have been warned for the last 5 years to prepare for the biggest earthquake that this country will ever experience but we were told it would be from a faultline along the Southern Alps, AND THIS WAS NOT IT. We had two earthquakes and they came from two different faultlines and according to geologist...they were faultlines that they didn't even know existed until now, and not only that, there are many more that have come to light. In the meantime, the big quake we were warned to prepare for is still hanging over our heads. jUST HAD ANOTHER AFTERSHOCK.

Glad to know that you and your family are well. Hope everything is cleaned up and everything is back to normal.

Mark, thanks for sharing. I was in Christchurch in 1986 and loved it. I'm sorry to see all the devastation but I'm glad that you and your family are OK. Thanks for sharing.

Hi OMG ... I didnt hear about this until just now,,,,, I hope that you and your family are ok and that the people of christchurch are ok too... just wanted to say I am concerned that this happened but I am thankful that you are all ok..

Peace

Hi,
it is very sad news to me, when i heard recent earthquake jolts the country, i feel sorry to losses, and massive destruction, may god give them patience to overcome that difficult time, ..........its my dream to visit Newzealand . when i come here next year, i will found public happy and get busy state?? i mean forget the bad & see + prospect

Glad to hear you're ok, hope you guys get back to your normal life asap (no more aftershock, finger-crossed). Blessings to all of you and your families.

Thank you for sharing Mark, and I am glad you have power now and are starting to see some recovery activities. I know there will be a lot of losses and rebuilding and this will take time but, as you said, luckily there was not a lot of loss of life!
Wishing everyone over there the very best - you live in such a beautiful part of the world and hopefully the scarring will soon be gone

Hey Mark,

Sometimes it takes major events like this to realize how much we all can mean to each other. Mark, you and your staff along with all your families mean so much to all of us, which is certainly reflected in all the comments here.

I was born and raised in Seattle Washington and I have been through a few quakes myself to include one similar in size to what you just experienced. The power of nature is truly awesome, but even more so, is the power of our Awesome God who created it all! May the Lord continue to guide and protect you, your staff, all your families, and all those in and around the beautiful city of Christchurch New Zealand.
- John Messmer, Reno NV

Hi Mark,
Thank God You, Your Wife and Child, and your Staff are all OK. Best of Luck with the cleanup operation. It must be a massive undertaking.

Best Regards,
John

Lived through the Loma Preita quake in California in1989. You 'll be so strong and grounded after this the rest of the world will marvel!

Hi Mark,

I just joined Affilorama and found this news. I'm glad you and your family are okay. My heart goes out to other people in New Zealand. May God be with them on this tragic event.

Hi Mark, I have only just joined, but i had no idea you lived there. Glad only had slight damage.
It looks bad in other ereas. I hear New Zealand is a lovely place to live. God bless. See you on the flip side, and thanks for the video.

Hi Mark

Im happy to hear that you and your family are all safe and your home was spared major damage. I had'nt heard about this until I read your post here.

We re praying for you guys here in California.

thanks for the video, pretty shocking.

Hi Mark,

i am glad to hear yourself and the family are safe and well. thanks for the sharing the video.

Hi Mark,

Sorry to know about the earthquake, but glad that you and your family are okay. Thanks for
your video that you shared.

Hope things are going well for everyone with this new quake. Stay safe.
Blessings,
J

On yahoo there was a news article about the quake as of today, probably 22Feb11 there. I hope everyone is safe, my prayers are with you.

Sure this was a horrible thing. I am glad that my family and friends working in NZ are all safe. God bless everyone.