Update

Thank you for all your messages yesterday. They were very much appreciated. Joe called this morning and he is okay. He was with his friend doing the cleaning in his hostel when the earthquake struck. The building had started to collapse so they got out quickly into the square past the cathedral as it too was collapsing. We spotted them both on the BBC news last night which seemed slighty surreal. They were ushered to the main evacuation area where a local couple offered them somewhere to stay so they had a bed for the night and breakfast this morning. They have lost all their belongings. He only has the clothes he was wearing - no passport, no wallet, nothing. But we know he was one of the lucky ones - he's alive and unhurt - everything else can be sorted. I can't imagine how awful it must be for others.

He has no plans to come home - he figures there will be work to be done in Christchurch in the coming months. I'm just happy that he's safe. The relief feels exhausting.