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Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Geological research in the immediate aftermath of the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake, New Zealand, was necessary due to the importance and perishability of field data. It also reflects a real desire on the part of researchers to contribute not only to immediate scientific understanding but also to the societal recovery effort by enhancing knowledge of the event for the benefit of affected communities, civil defence organizations and regional and national decision makers. This commitment to outreach and engagement is consistent with the recent IAPG statement of Geoethics. More immediately, it was informed by experience of the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake sequence. After that earlier disaster, intense interactions between researchers and various response agencies as well as local communities informed the development and dissemination of a set of ethical guidelines for researchers immediately following the Mw7.8 14 November 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake. In this presentation, I argue that ethical engagement of this kind is the key to gathering high quality research data immediately after the event. Creating trusting and mutually respectful, mutually beneficial relationships is also vital to ongoing engagement to facilitate further “in depth” research in collaboration with communities.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The performance of buildings in recent New Zealand earthquakes (Canterbury, Seddon and Kaikōura), delivered stark lessons on seismic resilience. Most of our buildings, with a few notable exceptions, performed as our Codes intended them to, that is, to safeguard people from injury. Many buildings only suffered minor structural damage but were unable to be reused and occupied for significant periods of time due to the damage and failure of non-structural elements. This resulted in substantial economic losses and major disruptions to our businesses and communities. Research has attributed the damage to poor overall design coordination, inadequate or lack of seismic restraints for non structural elements and insufficient clearances between building components to cater for the interaction of non structural elements under seismic actions. Investigations have found a clear connection between the poor performance of non-structural elements and the issues causing pain in the industry (procurement methods, risk aversion, the lack of clear understanding of design and inspection responsibility and the need for better alignment of the design codes to enable a consistent integrated design approach). The challenge to improve the seismic performance of non structural elements in New Zealand is a complex one that cuts across a diverse construction industry. Adopting the key steps as recommended in this paper is expected to have significant co-benefits to the New Zealand construction industry, with improvements in productivity alongside reductions in costs and waste, as the rework which plagues the industry decreases.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

There's been widespread dismay at the decision not to prosecute anyone for the deaths of 115 people in the CTV building collapse during the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. Police say it was a tough decision - they wanted to hold someone to account but there simply wasn't the evidence to warrant a prosecution.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Strong aftershocks felt in Canterbury, Quake firms to seek government wage subsidy, More services, access to buildings being restored in Christchurch, Minister for Earthquake Recovery discusses plans, Heavy rain causes flooding and road closures in Lower North Island, Building codes minimised quake's injuries and damage, Glass supply freezes as Christchurch companies clean up.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Thousands of people are making insurance claims after heavy rain and flooding in the north of New Zealand, especially in Auckland. Insurance lawyer Peter Woods has worked on property claims for earthquake damage in Canterbury and Marlborough.. He has also been an Independent Specialist Adviser to the government. Peter talks to Lisa Owen.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video capturing an aftershock from the Canterbury earthquake on 13 June 2011, 2:20 pm. A strong shake after lunch time caused Ben Post to set up his camera in his workplace, capturing this aftershock. The camera is mounted on a small sturdy tripod on top of a table with wheels.

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

Inside the Christchurch City Council building someone wonders what that noise is. Outside a gigantic wave of 'public discontent' rushes towards them. Context: Relates to anger and a protest of 4000 people at what they see as poor performance by the City Council in dealing with earthquake issues. The final straw was the Council's decision on the advice of its consultants to award the Council Chief Executive Tony Marryatt a $68,000 14% pay rise mid December 2011. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Previous earthquakes demonstrated destructive effects of soil-structure interaction on structural response. For example, in the 1970 Gediz earthquake in Turkey, part of a factory was demolished in a town 135 km from the epicentre, while no other buildings in the town were damaged. Subsequent investigations revealed that the fundamental period of vibration of the factory was approximately equal to that of the underlying soil. This alignment provided a resonance effect and led to collapse of the structure. Another dramatic example took place in Adapazari, during the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake where several foundations failed due to either bearing capacity exceedance or foundation uplifting, consequently, damaging the structure. Finally, the Christchurch 2012 earthquakes have shown that significant nonlinear action in the soil and soil-foundation interface can be expected due to high levels of seismic excitation and spectral acceleration. This nonlinearity, in turn, significantly influenced the response of the structure interacting with the soil-foundation underneath. Extensive research over more than 35 years has focused on the subject of seismic soil-structure interaction. However, since the response of soil-structure systems to seismic forces is extremely complex, burdened by uncertainties in system parameters and variability in ground motions, the role of soil-structure interaction on the structural response is still controversial. Conventional design procedures suggest that soil-structure interaction effects on the structural response can be conservatively ignored. However, more recent studies show that soil-structure interaction can be either beneficial or detrimental, depending on the soil-structure-earthquake scenarios considered. In view of the above mentioned issues, this research aims to utilise a comprehensive and systematic probabilistic methodology, as the most rational way, to quantify the effects of soil-structure interaction on the structural response considering both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. The goal is achieved by examining the response of established rheological single-degree-of-freedom systems located on shallow-foundation and excited by ground motions with different spectral characteristics. In this regard, four main phases are followed. First, the effects of seismic soil-structure interaction on the response of structures with linear behaviour are investigated using a robust stochastic approach. Herein, the soil-foundation interface is modelled by an equivalent linear cone model. This phase is mainly considered to examine the influence of soil-structure interaction on the approach that has been adopted in the building codes for developing design spectrum and defining the seismic forces acting on the structure. Second, the effects of structural nonlinearity on the role of soil-structure interaction in modifying seismic structural response are studied. The same stochastic approach as phase 1 is followed, while three different types of structural force-deflection behaviour are examined. Third, a systematic fashion is carried out to look for any possible correlation between soil, structural, and system parameters and the degree of soil-structure interaction effects on the structural response. An attempt is made to identify the key parameters whose variation significantly affects the structural response. In addition, it is tried to define the critical range of variation of parameters of consequent. Finally, the impact of soil-foundation interface nonlinearity on the soil-structure interaction analysis is examined. In this regard, a newly developed macro-element covering both material and geometrical soil-foundation interface nonlinearity is implemented in a finite-element program Raumoko 3D. This model is then used in an extensive probabilistic simulation to compare the effects of linear and nonlinear soil-structure interaction on the structural response. This research is concluded by reviewing the current design guidelines incorporating soil-structure interaction effects in their design procedures. A discussion is then followed on the inadequacies of current procedures based on the outcomes of this study.

Images, eqnz.chch.2010

A view after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch 4 September 2010. Corner of Colombo and Byron Streets. Given a bit of a HDR process to add some of what I was "feeling" at the time.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

This report presents research on the affects of the Ōtautahi/Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 to 2012 on the city’s Tangata Whaiora community, ‘people seeking health’ as Māori frame mental health clients. Drawing on the voices of 39 participants of a Kaupapa Māori provider (Te Awa o te Ora), this report presents extended quotes from Tangata Whaiora, their support staff (many of whom are Tangata Whaiora), and managers as they speak of the events, their experiences, and support that sustained them in recoveries of well-being through the worse disaster in Aotearoa/New Zealand in three generations. Ōtautahi contains a significant urban Māori population, many living in suburbs that were seriously impacted by the earthquakes that began before dawn on September 4th, 2010, and continued throughout 2011 and 2012. The most damaging event occurred on February 22nd, 2011, and killed 185 people and severely damaged the CBD as well as many thousands of homes. The thousands of aftershocks delayed the rebuilding of homes and infrastructure and exacerbated the stress and dislocation felt by residents. The tensions and disorder continue for numerous residents into 2014 and it will be many years before full social and physical recovery can be expected. This report presents extended excerpts from the interviews of Tangata Whaiora and their support staff. Their stories of survival through the disaster reinforce themes of community and whānau while emphasising the reality that a significant number of Tangata Whaiora do not or cannot draw on this supports. The ongoing need for focused responses in the area of housing and accommodation, sufficiently resourced psycho-social support, and the value of Kaupapa Māori provision for Māori and non-Māori mental health clients cannot be overstated. The report also collates advice from participants to other Tangata Whaiora, their whānau, providers and indeed all residents of places subject to irregular but potentially devastating disaster. Much of this advice is relevant for more daily challenges and should not be underestimated despite its simplicity.

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

A plane flies into the distance. Attached to it by a rope is a large package containing Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker and CEO of the City Council Tony Marryatt. The package is addressed 'Deepest Siberia c/- isolated hellhole Russia'. The mayor looks on the bright side considering this to be a junket the people will approve of. Context: Public disapproval of the Mayor's two-week tour of Asian countries with a Christchurch International Airport-led delegation. The airport is paying for the mayoral couple to take part in the trip. There is public criticism that the trip take place at this time because of ongoing problems with the council and earthquake recovery. There is also criticism of Tony Marryatt's $68,000 pay increase considered poor form when so many people are struggling with earthquake related problems. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Post analysis of last night's All Black victory over the Wallabies and a look at the challenges ahead against Les Bleus; various looks at the Rena including mitigation of environmental impact and a 'please explain' summons to the lessees by the Transport Minister and; the Canterbury earthquake's Royal Commission hearings begin.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Landslides are significant hazards, especially in seismically-active mountainous regions, where shaking amplified by steep topography can result in widespread landsliding. These landslides present not only an acute hazard, but a chronic hazard that can last years-to-decades after the initial earthquake, causing recurring impacts. The Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake caused more than 20,000 landslides throughout North Canterbury and resulted in significant damage to nationally significant infrastructure in the coastal transport corridor (CTC), isolating Kaikōura from the rest of New Zealand. In the years following, ongoing landsliding triggered by intense rainfall exacerbated the impacts and slowed the recovery process. However, while there is significant research on co-seismic landslides and their initial impacts in New Zealand, little research has explored the evolution of co-seismic landslides and how this hazard changes over time. This research maps landslides annually between 2013 and 2021 to evaluate the changes in pre-earthquake, co-seismic and post-earthquake rates of landsliding to determine how landslide hazard has changed over this time. In particular, the research explores how the number, area, and spatial distribution of landslides has changed since the earthquake, and whether post-earthquake mitigation works have in any way affected the long-term landslide hazard. Mapping of landslides was undertaken using open-source, medium resolution Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, with landslides identified visually and mapped as single polygons that capture both the source zone and deposit. Three study areas with differing levels of post-earthquake mitigation are compared: (i) the northern CTC, where the majority of mitigation was in the form of active debris removal; (ii) the southern CTC, where mitigation was primarily via passive protection measures; and (iii) Mount Fyffe, which has had no mitigation works since the earthquake. The results show that despite similar initial impacts during the earthquake, the rate of recovery in terms of landslide rates varies substantially across the three study areas. In Mount Fyffe, the number and area of landslides could take 45 and 22 years from 2021 respectively to return to pre-earthquake levels at the current rate. Comparatively, in the CTC, it could take just 5 years and 3-4 years from 2021 respectively. Notably, the fastest recovery in terms of landslide rates in the CTC was primarily located directly along the transport network, whereas what little recovery did occur in Mount Fyffe appeared to follow no particular pattern. Importantly, recovery rates in the northern CTC were notably higher than in the southern CTC, despite greater co-seismic impacts in the former. Combined, these results suggest the active, debris removal mitigation undertaken in the northern CTC may have had the effect of dramatically reducing the time for landslide rates to return to pre-earthquake levels. The role of slope angle and slope aspect were explored to evaluate if these observations could be driven by local differences in topography. The Mount Fyffe study area has higher slope angles than the CTC as a whole and landslides predominantly occurred on slightly steeper slopes than in the CTC. This may have contributed to the longer recovery times for landsliding in Mount Fyffe due to greater gravitational instability, however the observed variations are minor compared to the differences in recovery rates. In terms of slope aspect, landslides in Mount Fyffe preferentially occurred on north- and south-facing slopes whereas landslides in the CTC preferred the east- and south-facing slopes. The potential role of these differences in landslide recovery remains unclear but may be related to the propagation direction of the earthquake and the tracking direction of post-earthquake ex-tropical cyclones. Finally, landslides in the CTC are observed to be moving further away from the transport network and the number of landslides impacting the CTC decreased significantly since the earthquake. Nevertheless, the potential for further landslide reactivation remains. Therefore, despite the recovery in the CTC, it is clear that there is still risk of the transport network being impacted by further landsliding, at least for the next 3-5 yrs.

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

The last seven years have seen southern New Zealand a ected by several large and damaging earthquakes: the moment magnitude (MW) 7.8 Dusky Sound earthquake on 15 July 2009, the MW 7.1 Dar eld (Canterbury) earthquake on 4 September 2010, and most notably the MW 6.2 Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011 and the protracted aftershock sequence. In this thesis, we address the postseismic displacement produced by these earthquakes using methods of satellite-based geodetic measurement, known as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Global Positioning System (GPS), and computational modelling.  We observe several ground displacement features in the Canterbury and Fiordland regions during three periods: 1) Following the Dusky Sound earthquake; 2) Following the Dar eld earthquake and prior to the Christchurch earthquake; and 3) Following the Christchurch earthquake until February 2015.  The ground displacement associated with postseismic motion following the Dusky Sound earthquake has been measured by continuous and campaign GPS data acquired in August 2009, in conjunction with Di erential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) observations. We use an afterslip model, estimated by temporal inversion of geodetic data, with combined viscoelastic rebound model to account for the observed spatio-temporal patterns of displacement. The two postseismic processes together induce a signi cant displacement corresponding to principal extensional and contractual strain rates of the order of 10⁻⁷ and 10⁻⁸ yr⁻¹ respectively, across most of the southern South Island.  We also analyse observed postseismic displacement following the Dusky Sound earthquake using a new inversion approach in order to describe afterslip in an elasticviscoelastic medium. We develop a mathematical framework, namely the "Iterative Decoupling of Afterslip and Viscoelastic rebound (IDAV)" method, with which to invert temporally dense and spatially sparse geodetic observations. We examine the IDAV method using both numerical and analytical simulations of Green's functions.  For the post-Dar eld time interval, postseismic signals are measured within approximately one month of the mainshock. The dataset used for the post-Dar eld displacement spans the region surrounding previously unrecognised faults that ruptured during the mainshock. Poroelastic rebound in a multi-layered half-space and dilatancy recovery at shallow depths provide a satisfactory t with the observations.  For the post-Christchurch interval, campaign GPS data acquired in February 2012 to February 2015 in four successive epochs and 66 TerraSAR-X (TSX) SAR acquisitions in descending orbits between March 2011 and May 2014 reveal approximately three years of postseismic displacement. We detect movement away from the satellite of ~ 3 mm/yr in Christchurch and a gradient of displacement of ~ 4 mm/yr across a lineament extending from the westernmost end of the Western Christchurch Fault towards the eastern end of the Greendale East Fault. The postseismic signals following the Christchurch earthquake are mainly accounted for by afterslip models on the subsurface lineament and nearby faults.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A very large earthquake in the central North Island could trigger a big lahar from Mt Ruapehu. In the recent past it's been eruptions that have led to lahars on the mountain. But scientists from Canterbury University have checking what else might cause cause mud and debris to spew out of the crater lake.

Articles, UC QuakeStudies

An honours-level thesis report by Shermine Kwok, an undergraduate student from the National University of Singapore. Shermine attended the University of Canterbury on an exchange in 2012. Inspired by the resilience of Christchurch and its residents, she returned to Christchurch to study the creative urban regeneration efforts since the earthquakes of 2010 - 2011.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Canterbury organist Martin Setchell gives the inaugural recital on an organ that’s more than 100 years old. He explains how the instrument survived the February 22nd earthquake even though the church crumbled around it, why it was important to save it, and how the latest technology has being integrated into the restored organ..

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

Christchurch City has to be rebuilt after the earthquakes of 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011. People are being invited to contribute ideas about how to rebuild on a city council website. A group of people look at ideas on computers; a boy comments that 'this one looks just like the old city' and his father comments 'but built fifty miles up the road!' A woman looks at what appears to be pre European Maori pa site and says 'Hone Harawira wants something pre-European!' Another woman looks at a map of the middle of the South Island and says 'Rodney Hide doesn't care as long as Christchurch combines with Timaru and Westport!' Context - Former ACT leader Rodney Hide in his role as Minister for Local Government likes 'supercities' and Hone Harawira has left the Maori Party, fed up with the compromises he believes they have to make to suit their coalition agreement with the National government. He seems to prefer a city that will reflect simpler pre-European times. Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of the second part of an address by Dr. Rod Carr, Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury, at the 2012 Seismics and the City forum. Dr. Carr talks about how the University coped with the immediate disruption caused by the February earthquake, and turned a crisis into an opportunity by strengthening its learning and innovation roles in seismic-related areas and other domains.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of the first part of an address by Dr. Rod Carr, Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury, at the 2012 Seismics and the City forum. Dr. Carr talks about how the University coped with the immediate disruption caused by the February earthquake, and turned a crisis into an opportunity by strengthening its learning and innovation roles in seismic-related areas and other domains.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes and their aftermath have been described by the Human Rights Commission as one of New Zealand's greatest contemporary human rights challenges. This article documents the shortcomings in the realisation of the right to housing in post-quake Canterbury for homeowners, tenants and the homeless. The article then considers what these shortcomings tell us about New Zealand's overall human rights framework, suggesting that the ongoing and seemingly intractable nature of these issues and the apparent inability to resolve them indicate an underlying fragility implicit in New Zealand's framework for dealing with the consequences of a large-scale natural disaster. The article concludes that there is a need for a comprehensive human rights-based approach to disaster preparedness, response and recovery in New Zealand.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Elric Hooper is a recognisable face in Christchurch theatre both on and off stage. He spent his early years with Dame Ngaio Marsh, the influential woman for whom the theatre at The University of Canterbury was named after. The theatre was damaged during the Christchurch earthquakes and is now under threat. But is it worth keeping it?