Six years after Christchurch's destructive 6.3 magnitude earthquake the rebuild programme is now being used to provide training for workers from the Pacific. Twenty-four workers from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa are helping rebuild the city while learning new skills and earning money they can send home.
When it comes to personal fragrance (continuing on from our post a couple of weeks ago), exactly which perfumes and deodorants we choose to wear can reveal a lot about us, as individuals and as a society. How we define … Continue reading →
Site where artists can donate songs which are compiled into an album to raise money for Christchurch earthquake relief. Includes information about the first album, how to submit a song, and an online shop; and news blog of quake- and album-related information.
The first feeling that strikes everyone on coming to New Zealand is its intense want of animal life. Mountains, plains, rivers, – mere features without a soul; for you can hardly dignify the miserable ground lark, the wailing weka, or … Continue reading →
The Supreme Court has ruled that a class action by Canterbury insurance holders against Southern Response can go ahead. Ali Jones, insurance claimants advocate explains to The Panel what this means for home owners who've been fighting for years to get their fair entitlements.
Signs on a cordon fence around a building on Worcester Street. One advertises a multi-cultural festival and the other one reads, "Lakes Chemist. Prescriptions can be obtained from Woodham Road Pharmacy". These provide the local public information about the changes and relevant news about the area.
A photograph of children's play equipment on the site of the Gap Filler office. In the background, a mural reads, "The things which I have seen I now can see no more".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Richard Peebles as close as he can get to his Manchester Courts which has just been awarded a demolition permit after a month's wait, initially the inspectors said it was ok. MLC building".
Boarded-up broken windows on the old Christchurch City Council building in Tuam Street. The photographer comments, "What can happen to a building when the land is no longer solid as a rock".
Detail of the front entrance to the Croydon House B&B Hotel. The front door has been removed and left in front. On the door are spray paint markings left by USAR after the building was checked. Cordon tape restricting access to the buildings can be seen.
The deconstruction of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, with a digger and a pile of demolition rubble in front. Road cones and signs have been placed in front to divert traffic around the area. Flags in Canterbury colours, red and black can be seen on the street lights.
The deconstruction of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, with a digger and a pile of demolition rubble in front. Road cones and signs have been placed in front to divert traffic around the area. A flag in Canterbury colours, red and black can be seen on the street lights.
A photograph captioned, "In the 1930s the traffic in Gayhurst Road was so light that I can remember playing hockey and cricket with apple boxes for wickets. If a car or cart came along there was plenty of time to shift the boxes to let them past".
A photograph of a SPCA Wellington vehicle driving through the Christchurch central city after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background, a group of shops has been damaged by the earthquakes. A portaloo can be seen to the left.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Richard Peebles as close as he can get to his Manchester Courts which has just been awarded a demolition permit after a month's wait, initially the inspectors said it was ok. MLC building".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Richard Peebles as close as he can get to his Manchester Courts which has just been awarded a demolition permit after a month's wait, initially the inspectors said it was ok. MLC building".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Richard Peebles as close as he can get to his Manchester Courts which has just been awarded a demolition permit after a month's wait, initially the inspectors said it was ok. MLC building".
Broken windows on Leicester House. Broken filing cabinets and other fittings lie on the ground in front of the building. The photographer comments, "As you can see the game did not last very long".
The road cordon on Hereford Street just outside the T & G Building (formerly known as Kenton Chambers). On the fence is a banner that reads 'Hope' and behind it is a street sign that reads 'Road closed'. A digger and building rubble can be seen in the background.
The road cordon on Hereford Street just outside the T & G Building (formerly known as Kenton Chambers). On the fence is a banner that reads 'Hope' and behind it is a street sign that reads 'Road closed'. A digger and building rubble can be seen in the background.
In this week’s programme we’re featuring evening hymns, and you can hear a setting of Psalm 23 – it’ll be the third in our series so far. We’re also commemorating the Feast Day of German theologian Martin Luther, and the 11th anniversary of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
It is not a matter of if a major earthquake will happen in New Zealand, it is when. Earthquakes wreak havoc, cut off power and water supply, lines of communication, sewer, supply chains, and transport infrastructure. People get injured and whole communities can get cut off the rest of the country for extended periods of time. Countries taking measures to increase the population's preparedness tend to suffer less severe consequences than those that do not. Disaster management authorities deliver comprehensive instructions and preparation guidance, yet communities remain grossly underprepared. There are multiple factors that influence motivation for preparedness. Personal experience is one of the most significant factors that influence preparedness motivation. Not many people will experience a severe and damaging earthquake in their lifetime. A serious game (SG) that is a computer simulation of an earthquake is a tool that can let participants experience the earthquake and its aftermath from the safety of their computer. The main result of this research is a positive answer to the question: Can a serious game motivate people to prepare for earthquakes at least just as good as a personal experience of at least a moderate earthquake? There are different levels of immersion this serious game can be implemented at. In this thesis the same earthquake experience scenario – SG “ShakeUp” is implemented as a desktop application and a virtual reality (VR) application. A user study is conducted with the aim of comparing the motivation level achieved by the two versions of the SG “ShakeUp”. In this study no benefits of using VR over traditional desktop application were found: participants trying both versions of the SG “ShakeUp” reported similar levels of motivation to prepare for earthquakes immediately after the experiment. This means that both versions of the experience were equally effective in motivating participants to prepare for earthquakes. An additional benefit of this result is that the cheaper and easier to deliver desktop version can be widely used in various education campaigns. Participants reported being more motivated to prepare for earthquakes by either version of the SG “ShakeUp” than by any other contributing factor, including their previous earthquake experience or participation in a public education campaign. Both versions of the SG “ShakeUp” can successfully overcome personal bias, unrealistic optimism, pessimism, lack of perceived control over one’s earthquake preparation actions, fatalism, and sense of helplessness in the face of the earthquakes and motivate the individual to prepare for earthquakes. Participants without the prior earthquake experience benefit most from the SG “ShakeUp” regardless of the version tried, compared to the participants who had experienced an earthquake: significantly more of them will reconsider their current level of earthquake preparedness; about 24% more of them attribute their increased level of motivation to prepare for earthquakes to the SG “ShakeUp”. For every earthquake preparation action there is about 25% more people who felt motivated to do it after trying the SG “ShakeUp” than those who have done this preparation action before the experiment. After trying either version of the SG “ShakeUp”, people who live in a free standing house and those who live in a rental property reported highest levels of intent to carry on with the preparation actions. The proposed application prototype has been discussed with the University of Canterbury Earthquake Centre and received very positive feedback as having potential for practical use by various disaster management authorities and training institutions. The research shows that the SG “ShakeUp” motivates people to prepare for earthquakes as good as a personal earthquake experience and can be successfully used in various education campaigns.
One of the failure modes that got the attention of researchers in the 2011 February New Zealand earthquake was the collapse of a key supporting structural wall of Grand Chancellor Hotel in Christchurch which failed in a brittle manner. However, until now this failure mode has been still a bit of a mystery for the researchers in the field of structural engineering. Moreover, there is no method to identify, assess and design the walls prone to such failure mode. Following the recent break through regarding the mechanism of this failure mode based on experimental observations (out-of-plane shear failure), a numerical model that can capture this failure was developed using the FE software DIANA. A comprehensive numerical parametric study was conducted to identify the key parameters contributing to the development of out-of-plane shear failure in reinforced concrete (RC) walls. Based on the earthquake observations, experimental and numerical studies conducted by the authors of this paper, an analytical method to identify walls prone to out-of-plane shear failure that can be used in practice by engineers is proposed. The method is developed based on the key parameters affecting the seismic performance of RC walls prone to out-of-plane shear failure and can be used for both design and assessment purposes
Disasters can create the equivalent of 20 years of waste in only a few days. Disaster waste can have direct impacts on public health and safety, and on the environment. The management of such waste has a great direct cost to society in terms of labor, equipment, processing, transport and disposal. Disaster waste management also has indirect costs, in the sense that slow management can slow down a recovery, greatly affecting the ability of commerce and industry to re-start. In addition, a disaster can lead to the disruption of normal solid waste management systems, or result in inappropriate management that leads to expensive environmental remediation. Finally, there are social impacts implicit in disaster waste management decisions because of psychological impact we expect when waste is not cleared quickly or is cleared too quickly. The paper gives an overview of the challenge of disaster waste management, examining issues of waste quantity and composition; waste treatment; environmental, economic, and social impacts; health and safety matters; and planning. Christchurch, New Zealand, and the broader region of Canterbury were impacted during this research by a series of shallow earthquakes. This has led to the largest natural disaster emergency in New Zealand’s history, and the management of approximately 8 million tons of building and infrastructure debris has become a major issue. The paper provides an overview of the status of disaster waste management in Christchurch as a case study. A key conclusion is the vital role of planning in effective disaster waste management. In spite of the frequency of disasters, in most countries the ratio of time spent on planning for disaster waste management to the time spent on normal waste management is extremely low. Disaster waste management also requires improved education or training of those involved in response efforts. All solid waste professionals have a role to play to respond to the challenges of disaster waste management.
This website provides official information about Ministers, their portfolios and major initiatives. The site also includes full-text news items, press releases (including releases about the Budget), speeches and newsletters. Earthquake related information can be found in the archived instances from September 2010-
Services to Schools offers support to New Zealand educators, through advisory services, professional development, literacy programs and the supply of non-fiction, fiction, picture books and graphic novels to New Zealand schools. Earthquake related information can be found in the archived instances from September 2010-
Ngai Tahu are the Maori people of the southern islands of New Zealand, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu is the governing body. Background, objectives, information and programmes are detailed for all the associated corporations. Earthquake related information can be found in the archived instances from September 2010-
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch earthquake. Caltex on High Street in Rangiora only allowing $50 per car and no cans and no LPG. The other two fuel stations in Rangiora are empty, Shell Southbrook and Mobil in Ashley Street is diesel only. Rangiora".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "New Zealand's Governor-General Anand Satyanand and his wife Susan Satyanand visited sites around earthquake-stricken Canterbury today. Satyanand at the epicentre near Darfield where the new fault line can be clearly seen across a rural paddock".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "City centre returning to normal as people get out for beers on a Friday. Mark van Roosmalen (left) and Rob Wilkinson have a beer at the Excelsior pub. A badly damaged facade can be seen through the window".