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By the next day, 85% of the power was restored, 300 displaced people are staying in emergency centers, and welfare groups are feeding about 1,000 people. The Earthquake Commission reported that the state disaster insurance fund can sufficiently cover 90% of the claims.

Earthquake analysts released reports on the Alpine fault, a geological fault that runs almost the entire length of South Island. Geologists stressed that the earthquake was inevitable in the area as Christchurch was built on a plain of gravel, silt, and peat. They recommended that reconstruction efforts must focus not so much on the building materials but on the nature of the ground, the foundations, and proximity to the Alpine fault.

Except for two injuries, there were no casualties.

While Prime Minister John Key was reported to have said that it was an "absolute miracle" no one died, the Christchurch earthquake experience serves as a great template for how modern societies can adapt to nature and its terms and conditions. Strict compliance and enforcement of building codes are major elements in the preparedness of this city of around 400,000 people.

Christchurch City shows a way forward in positively redirecting what could have been a major social tragedy into an affirmation of the life-saving value of disaster preparedness. While people lost properties, homes, and other structures, no one lost a loved one during the earthquake. And during the aftermath, there was the efficient and systematic response to restore normalcy in people's lives through the resumption of power and water supply, communication lines, and the strong assurance of the Earthquake Commission that it has the capacity to cover almost all claims.

And because there were no lives lost and there was more than adequate capacity to respond to its own people's needs and concerns, there was not as much international media attention expected from an earthquake event of that magnitude, outside of New Zealand.

Yet, this is one of the events that urgently needs international media attention if only to illustrate and share a real-life country response to a major natural event, to sustain attention and response to countries like Haiti that are so unprepared, and to contribute to strategies in rebuilding from disasters so that countries like Haiti are safer. It is one of the rare moments that a little bit of hysteria can be appreciated.

Natural events continue and will continue to take their toll, socially, environmentally, economically. Recent events such as the flooding in Pakistan and China, the mudslides in Guatemala, the forest fires in Russia, to name only a few, are posing great challenges to countries and their institutions in their ability to respond efficiently, systematically and to adapt to the nature of their landscapes.

Christchurch City, New Zealand - its people, its government, its institutions showed the world something last 4 September, albeit quietly, and it would do the world good to review and learn from them.