The Samples

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A box containing drilling cores from soil sampling. The photographer comments, "These are the samples from drilling near my home. As you can see they are not so much samples as sand piles. The drill in a nearby street went down 20m and it was sand all the way. This is the box of samples from the ground level to 4.6m deep".

Sagging in the Middle

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A wooden house in Wainoni has visibly bowed inwards towards its centre. The photographer comments, "During the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch the land which ran alongside the Avon river on Avonside Drive slumped towards the waterway. In a line parallel to the road the road, but around 20m away a ground movement occurred which caused some houses to rise up or sink down".

2011 Festival of Flowers

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A laminated sign for the 2011 Festival of Flowers attached to a wooden planter. The plants in the planter are dry and dead. The photographer comments, "The theme for the 2011 Festival of Flowers was 'burst! of water'. The Christchurch February earthquake came and water and sand called liquefaction burst out of the ground all around the area. Ironically the plants for the festival were left unattended in the cordoned off red zone and they would have loved a little burst of water".

This is an Earthquake Not a Wide Angle Shot

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A badly damaged house in Burwood. Parts of the house have moved in different directions, leaving walls and doors misaligned. The photographer comments, "Although this looks like an extreme wide angle shot it is actually a house tilted in every direction at the same time. The earthquake caused the ground to vibrate and compress so much that the sandy soil liquefied and caused the ground to collapse under this modern home".

Cracks in the Veneer

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Large cracks run through the brick cladding of this house in Wainoni. The photographer comments, "During the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch the land which ran alongside the Avon river on Avonside Drive slumped towards the waterway. Houses which were wooden framed and had an external brick veneer started to sink into the liquefied soil. This caused the brick walls to crack, but the houses' occupants though shook up were saved by the wooden framework from the houses collapsing on them".