Nick Rogers, project director, Canterbury Land Assessment for Tonkin & Taylor. Tonkin & Taylor is the environmental and engineering consultancy doing the Canterbury land damage assessment work for EQC and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority.
An American quake expert has criticised the risk assessment done following the Canterbury earthquake, and suggested authorities are being too cautious.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission has heard the property manager of the Pyne Gould building did not organise detailed engineering assessments after the first quake in September.
Rapid assessment teams are being sent out across quake hit Canterbury with the Earthquake Commission promising that up to 180-thousand homes will be inspected within the next eight weeks.
A lack of building inspections and the engineers to carry them out has come under further scrutiny at the Royal Commission of inquiry into the Canterbury earthquakes.
Christchurch MPs - Labour's Lianne Dalziel and National's Amy Adams - say it's not fair for seat-of-the-pants post-quake red/yellow and green sticker assessments to be formally recorded forever. They say the assessments were hastily done and inconsistent. But the Christchurch City Council says its required to do so under the provisions of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act.
The EQC undertook a rapid assessment of houses over a week ago and say they are confident they will get round all the residences in the Christchurch area within its eight week timeframe. Some Christchurch residents who say they are frustrated and angry about the lack of communication from the Earthquake Commission.