Our View: Silence to reflect on week of horror

It is hard to believe it's been one week since the earthquake.
At 12.51pm today, parts of Tauranga and the rest of the country were to stand still in silence for two minutes, marking the exact time when so many people lost their lives, when so many people's lives were shattered and when a city was brought to its knees.
Many readers will recall exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
And as the afternoon rolled on and those first images from battered Christchurch were beamed out, a sense of just how enormous this disaster was began to emerge.
As the death toll has risen throughout the week, Bay people have opened their arms and hearts.
There have been numerous examples reported in this paper of generous locals doing their bit to help victims.
Today, we continue reporting these fantastic efforts, with everyone from school children to big business doing their bit.
At least 18 schools are holding red and black mufti days or other fundraising activities this week and on page 3 we detail some of these efforts.
Molyneux Jewellers in Willow St is using last week's takings from the watch battery changes to buy hundreds of dollars of toiletries to send to victims.
The Port of Tauranga has made a $100,000 donation to Christchurch earthquake's Mayoral Relief Fund and pledged to match staff donations.
There will be more examples and we will report these as they come to our attention. Please let our newsdesk know if you are involved in a fundraising effort.
The huge efforts by Bay emergency workers who have flown to the scene also deserve recognition. They are selfless people who are potentially putting themselves in harm's way.
The costs are huge, and will be counted for years to come.
Canterbury's economy has been shattered and this will impact on the rest of the country too. It is likely we will feel this in the Bay. The total cost could be as high as $15 billion.
But lives are the most precious thing.
As today's paper went to press, the confirmed death toll was 154 and more than 50 further people are still unaccounted for. This death toll will rise further.
Their names and faces will be remembered.