Canterbury homeowners fear cost of broken concrete foundations

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Some Canterbury homeowners are worried that missed earthquake damage to concrete slabs could result in another big bill for the taxpayer. This comes only weeks after EQC told Checkpoint that the cost of mis-scoped damage or defective repairs following the Canterbury earthquakes could cost up to $1 billion. This includes $450 million for botched repairs, including badly repaired rubble ring foundations, and $300 million for an ex gratia payment to about 1000 over-cap onsold homeowners. But some Canterbury homeowners who bought after the earthquakes - and did their due diligence - are only discovering damage to their concrete slab foundations now. Logan Church reports.

NZ's newest buildings withstand quakes more intense than Kaikōura

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Tests have revealed that New Zealand's latest building designs will stand up to earthquakes of a greater intensity than the ones that occurred in Christchurch and Kaikōura. Researchers from the University of Auckland and Canterbury, in collaboration with QuakeCoRE and Tongji University in China, built a two-storey concrete building and put it on one of the largest shake tables in the world. All of the building's details were based on existing buildings in Wellington and Christchurch. The project leader is the University of Auckland's Dr Rick Henry. He talks to Guyon Espiner.