Owners of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Among Americans in New Zealand When Quake Hits

Bob and Dean Giacomini, owners of the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, are on their way home from New Zealand following a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that has already claimed the lives of 75 people.

The Giacominis, who live in Point Reyes, but are well-known in Petaluma, were on vacation when the shaker struck in Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city. The couple made it out of their hotel by taking the stairs from their sixth floor room with just the clothes on their back and only their carry-on luggage, said Marilyn Herzog, who, along with her husband, had vacationed with the Giacominis, but left the day before the earthquake struck.

Herzog, who has spoken to the Giacominis by phone following the earthquake, said they described a scene of wide spread destruction.

“The lobby of their hotel was totally filled with broken glass, there was debris on the streets and water everywhere because the water mains had ruptured,” Herzog said.

Once on the street, the Giacominis managed to find a taxi that took them to the airport, but there were no flights. They managed to stay nearby with another friend, before getting a flight Wednesday, Herzog said.

The Giacomini family in Point Reyes did not immediately reply to a message left at their business.

The earthquake struck around 1pm Tuesday (Australian time), toppling buildings and trapping many people in the rubble. News reports have described a scene of carnage, with bodies laying on the streets and many people trapped in cars and crushed under rubble. 

President Barack Obama said the U.S. Agency for International Development Disaster Assistance Response Team would be deployed to Christchurch, a city of some 375,000 on New Zealand's South Island, to help with recovery.

"As our New Zealand friends move forward, may they find some comfort and strength in knowing that they will have the enduring friendship and support of many partners around the world, including the United States," Obama said in a statement, reported by the CNN.

The Giacominis were also joined in New Zealand by Dan and Carol Ann Libarle,  owners of , Jack and Carol King and Kip and Marolyn Herzog. The four couples are good friends and frequently travel together.

And while New Zealand is still clearing the rubble and expects casualties to increase, the Herzogs and their friends are breathing a sigh of relief.

"We were on the top floor of the hotel, but my husband and I left 20 hours before the earthquake,” said Marilyn Herzog. “I think that’s what saved us.”