Engineer wants building standards upgraded

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A Canterbury University engineer says building standards need to be upgraded before rebuilding begins in the earthquake battered region.

Engineers shocked by scenes of devastation

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A huge team of engineers is in Christchurch to assess the state of buildings damaged but still standing after Tuesday's earthquake.

Hundreds of engineers assess damage in Christchurch

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Hundreds of engineers are on the ground in Christchurch, assessing the damage in the wake of Tuesday's earthquake and are heading into the CBD en masse for the first time.

Concerns raised over training of NZ structural engineers

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Auckland structural engineer John Scarry is concerned that the series of investigations into earthquake related collapses of Christchurch buildings won't result in the changes needed to make the city safer.

Role of engineer in inspecting Chch building under spotlight

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A structural engineer who ordered a building green stickered though he'd failed to do another thorough check on it has defended his inspections at the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission.

Seismic engineer on the quake's effect on buildings

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A seismic engineer says many of the Christchurch buildings destroyed in Tuesday's quake weren't designed to cope with such intense forces - and it's possible damage from the September 4th earthquake went undetected.

Lack of engineering assessments investigated

Audio, Radio New Zealand

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.

Overseas expert shocked at design of PGC building

Audio, Radio New Zealand

An American engineer has told the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission he was shocked at the failure of builders to properly fix the floors of the PGC building to its walls.

Man was killed by a falling concrete wall

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Royal Commission investigating the Canterbury earthquakes has heard that the premises where a man was killed by a falling concrete wall was not inspected by structural engineers between the September and February quakes.

Breakdown in communication - unsafe building collapsed in quake

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission has heard that a breakdown in communication between structural engineers, a property manager and owner led the tenants of a building to wrongly assume their shop was safe.

The Vault - Cathedral Square

Audio, Radio New Zealand

In 1987, Jack Perkins recorded an award-winning documentary capturing the life, the sounds and the personalities of Cathedral Square in Christchurch. Thirty years on, Deborah Nation parallels that experience with the sounds of September 2011 as engineer Gabrielle Parker escorts her Shrough the earthquake Red Zone into the square as it is today.

Our Changing World - Creating Waves

Audio, Radio New Zealand

After the devastating effects on Christchurch, we are all aware of the damage earthquakes can cause. But in New Zealand, a tsunami could be just as damaging. University of Auckland engineers Asaad Shamseldin and PhD student Reza Shafiei are creating waves in the lab to work out how safe our buildings are, if a tsunami hits. Ruth Beran goes to visit them.