This land-locked port of Lyttelton – called occasionally Port Cooper and sometimes Port Victoria – is the main, or rather the only, entrance to the Province of Canterbury. The surroundi…
Ports of Auckland says incidents such as the strikes which crippled its operations and the Canterbury earthquakes which disrupted the Port of Lyttelton's operations shows New Zealand needs a resilient port sector.
Lyttelton Port is applauding a government decision to use the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act to speed up the redevelopment of the badly damaged port.
An official at the 'Otago Port Co.' stares in bewilderment at the feet of his colleague at the Lyttelton Port Company who says 'Ah, that might do it for now' as he hangs upside down by his feet from his upturned desk in the aftermath of the 4th September Canterbury earthquake. Text above reads 'News, the Lyttelton Port Co. has halted merger talks with Otago since the 'quake, saying "the landscape has changed". Refers to the news that Lyttelton Port, the South Island's biggest port, abandoned two-years of merger talks with rival Port Otago because it is preoccupied with rebuilding after the Canterbury earthquake. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) of 2010-2011 produced large seismic moments up to Mw 7.1. These large, near-to-surface (<15 km) ruptures triggered >6,000 rockfall boulders on the Port Hills of Christchurch, many of which impacted houses and affected the livelihoods of people within the impacted area. From these disastrous and unpredicted natural events a need arose to be able to assess the areas affected by rockfall events in the future, where it is known that a rockfall is possible from a specific source outcrop but the potential boulder runout and dynamics are not understood. The distribution of rockfall deposits is largely constrained by the physical properties and processes of the boulder and its motion such as block density, shape and size, block velocity, bounce height, impact and rebound angle, as well as the properties of the substrate. Numerical rockfall models go some way to accounting for all the complex factors in an algorithm, commonly parameterised in a user interface where site-specific effects can be calibrated. Calibration of these algorithms requires thorough field checks and often experimental practises. The purpose of this project, which began immediately following the most destructive rupture of the CES (February 22, 2011), is to collate data to characterise boulder falls, and to use this information, supplemented by a set of anthropogenic boulder fall data, to perform an in-depth calibration of the three-dimensional numerical rockfall model RAMMS::Rockfall. The thesis covers the following topics: • Use of field data to calibrate RAMMS. Boulder impact trails in the loess-colluvium soils at Rapaki Bay have been used to estimate ranges of boulder velocities and bounce heights. RAMMS results replicate field data closely; it is concluded that the model is appropriate for analysing the earthquake-triggered boulder trails at Rapaki Bay, and that it can be usefully applied to rockfall trajectory and hazard assessment at this and similar sites elsewhere. • Detailed analysis of dynamic rockfall processes, interpreted from recorded boulder rolling experiments, and compared to RAMMS simulated results at the same site. Recorded rotational and translational velocities of a particular boulder show that the boulder behaves logically and dynamically on impact with different substrate types. Simulations show that seasonal changes in soil moisture alter rockfall dynamics and runout predictions within RAMMS, and adjustments are made to the calibration to reflect this; suggesting that in hazard analysis a rockfall model should be calibrated to dry rather than wet soil conditions to anticipate the most serious outcome. • Verifying the model calibration for a separate site on the Port Hills. The results of the RAMMS simulations show the effectiveness of calibration against a real data set, as well as the effectiveness of vegetation as a rockfall barrier/retardant. The results of simulations are compared using hazard maps, where the maximum runouts match well the mapped CES fallen boulder maximum runouts. The results of the simulations in terms of frequency distribution of deposit locations on the slope are also compared with those of the CES data, using the shadow angle tool to apportion slope zones. These results also replicate real field data well. Results show that a maximum runout envelope can be mapped, as well as frequency distribution of deposited boulders for hazard (and thus risk) analysis purposes. The accuracy of the rockfall runout envelope and frequency distribution can be improved by comprehensive vegetation and substrate mapping. The topics above define the scope of the project, limiting the focus to rockfall processes on the Port Hills, and implications for model calibration for the wider scientific community. The results provide a useful rockfall analysis methodology with a defensible and replicable calibration process, that has the potential to be applied to other lithologies and substrates. Its applications include a method of analysis for the selection and positioning of rockfall countermeasure design; site safety assessment for scaling and demolition works; and risk analysis and land planning for future construction in Christchurch.
A logo for a feature on the Port Hills.
A map showing the zoning status of Port Hills properties.
An article from Navy Today April 2011 titled, "The Port".
Peter Davy is the chief executive of Ports of Lyttleton.
A video of an interview with Mark Yetton, Engineering Geologist at the Port Hills Geotech Group, about their work to assess the risk of rock fall and cliff collapse on the Christchurch Port Hills.
A map showing the status of properties in the Port Hills.
A map showing newly Green-Zoned properties in the Port Hills.
An article from Navy Today April 2011 titled, "Surveying the Port".
An infographic showing the location of red zones in the Port Hills.
A graphic giving statistics on the zoning of properties in the Port Hills.
Lyttelton Port is still only operating at 40 percent of its full capacity, nine days after the Christchurch earthquake, but the Port company says its core services are all working and within a week it will be almost at full strength.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch streets, Port-a-loos on River Road for residents".
A graphic showing the location of red and white zones in the Port Hills.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Fallen rocks in the Port Hills after a 6.3 earthquake".
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 26 February 2013 entitled, "Popular Port-a-loos".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Fallen rocks in the Port Hills after a 6.3 earthquake".
An entry from Roz Johnson's blog for 15 February 2013 entitled, "Cruise Ship in Port".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Necessary job: Port-a-loo contractors Grant Bridge (left) and Garry Quayle".
An infographic made up of maps showing changes in zoning in the Port Hills and Southshore.
One of the areas most affected by the February earthquake was the port town of Lyttelton, south of Christchurch.
A video of an address by Peter Davie, Chief Executive of Lyttelton Port Company, at the 2012 Seismics and the City forum. The talk is about how, in today's technological and economic environment, the ability to prevent, prepare for, or quickly recover from a disaster is a critical success factor. The seismic simulations that the Port of Lyttelton ran as part of its long term development plan became a key part of the Port's emergency response, and meant that cargo kept flowing with minimal downtime.
20130125_1749_1D3-400 Road Closed 1 The Lyttelton side of Evans Pass is closed (since the earthquake 23 months ago - 22/02/11). Prior to the road tunnel (through the Port Hills) opening in the early 1960s this was the main access road to the port of Lyttelton. #3072
Christchurch's Lyttelton Port says business has picked up about five per cent, as shops replace stock lost in the earthquake.
This report to RCP Ltd and University of Canterbury summarises the findings of a 5 month secondment to the CERA Port Hills Land Clearance Team. Improvement strategies were initiated and observed. The Port Hills Land Clearance Programme is the undertaking of the demolition of all built structures from the Crown’s compulsory acquired 714 residential red zoned properties. These properties are zoned red due to an elevated life risk as a result of geotechnical land uncertainty following the 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Lyttelton Port CEO, Peter Davie, right explains the earthquake damage to transport minister, Steven Joyce, at Gladstone Pier".