The Earthquake Commission (EQC) criticised for misleading and inadequate measurements on housing foundations when assessing damage to Canterbury homes; Wellington historic building champions vow to save heritage structure in the capital; the spread of didymo in Fiordland; Defence Force sentencing today after drowning last year; the censorship of Maniac, arty audiences only please, and; the PM changes tack on working with NZ First.
A view across Worcester Street in Linwood to a block of shops showing severe damage after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The businesses include Talon Arms and Wick's Fish. Masonry and structural components from the buildings has collapsed onto the footpath and road. A sign in front of Talon Arms has been spray painted with the words, "Guns gone".
A pdf transcript of Part 2 of Robert Craig Banbury's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Joshua Black. Transcriber: Sarah Woodfield.
A video about the Red Zone in the Christchurch Central City after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The video includes footage of damaged buildings and cars, the New Zealand Police and Army patrolling the streets, and an interview with Michael Harvey, a squad leader in the New Zealand Urban Search and Rescue.
A video about the reopening of C1 Espresso in the former post office on the corner of Tuam and High Streets. The café had to close after the 22 February 2011 earthquake, which severely damaged their building on High Street. The video includes footage of the staff setting up the cafe and an interview with owner Sam Crofskey.
A video about the reopening of Calendar Girls on Hereford Street. The video includes a tour of the strip club and an interview with Director Jacqui Le Prou. Le Prou talks about her frustration at not being able to access the building for more than a year after the 22 February 2011 earthquake, despite it receiving very little damage.
A video of an interview with Bruce Greenhalgh about the experiences of Smiths Sports Shoes after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. The business had to move from Moorhouse Avenue after the 4 September 2010 earthquake to Montreal Street. The 22 February 2011 earthquake then damaged their building on Montreal Street, forcing them to move again.
A photograph looking north up an alleyway on Tuam Street. The alleyway leads to Sol Square. There is a road cone in the middle of the alleyway. The message 'keep out' has been spray-painted on the ground on each side of the cone. In the distance there are bricks from several earthquake-damaged buildings in the alleyway.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Cranmer Courts on the corner of Montreal and Kilmore Streets. The top of the closest gable has broken and is now covered in a tarpaulin. In the distance, a chimney has also been removed. Wire fencing and road cones have been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Chinese Methodist Church on Papanui Road. The bricks at the top of the tower have crumbled, and the wooden bracing is hanging half off the building. The spire of the tower can be seen to the left where it was moved to following the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A digitally manipulated image of a sign reading "A bit of dirt never hurt". The photographer comments, "This was a sign put up on a section of land in the Port of Lyttelton where an earthquake damaged building had been removed. The cliff at the back had collapsed down probably during the demolition process".
A photograph of the site of a demolished house on the corner of Springfield Road and Bealey Avenue. "No go" has been spray-painted on the earthquake-damaged fence. Wire fencing and police tape has been placed across the entrance as a cordon. In the background, rubble from the demolished building can be seen.
A photograph of Anderson and Hill Sports Power on the corner of St Asaph and Colombo Streets. Wire fences have been placed across the street as a cordon. In the background, rubble from earthquake-damaged buildings and crushed cars line the left side of the road. There is also foliage from a fallen tree.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to The Burrito Company on Armagh Street. The front window has smashed, the glass spilling onto the floor and footpath outside. USAR codes have been spray-painted on the door and window to the side. A red sticker on the door indicates that the building is unsafe to enter.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to The Burrito Company on Armagh Street. The front window has smashed, the glass spilling onto the floor and footpath outside. USAR codes have been spray-painted on the door and window to the side. A red sticker on the door indicates that the building is unsafe to enter.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Christchurch Chinese Methodist Church on Papanui Road. The gable walls have crumbled, bricks spilling onto the ground. The tower has been removed and braced on the ground in front. Cordon fencing has been placed around the building. Parts of the fence have been decorated with hearts and the word 'love'.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. The top two storeys of the tower collapsed during the 22 February 2011 earthquake and the rubble spilled into the courtyard in front. A digger was used to clear the rubble away from the building. A tarpaulin has been draped over the top of the tower.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to a group of shops on the corner of Barbadoes Street and Edgeware Road. The second storey of the shops has collapsed, and the bricks have fallen to the footpath, taking the awnings with them. Police tape and road cones have been placed around the buildings as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the concrete beams in a room in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Building. Sections of the concrete have crumbled to reveal the steel reinforcement underneath. A number of the ceiling panels are missing and another is hanging loose. Some of the bars that hold the ceiling panels are also hanging loose.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. A massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Christchurch and the wider South Island, causing widespread damage, two serious injuries and power cuts to most of the city. Anna Lipsham begins the clean up at Ashton, Wheelans and Hegan in Kaiapoi. Lipsham empties dirt from the building into a large fissure in the road".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. A massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Christchurch and the wider South Island, causing widespread damage, two serious injuries and power cuts to most of the city. Anna Lipsham begins the clean up at Ashton, Wheelans and Hegan in Kaiapoi. Lipsham empties dirt from the building into a large fissure in the road".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. A massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake has hit Christchurch and the wider South Island, causing widespread damage, two serious injuries and power cuts to most of the city. Warren Lipsham begins the clean up at Ashton, Wheelans and Hegan in Kaiapoi. Lipsham empties dirt from the building into a large fissure in the road".
A photograph of the earthquake damage to a group of shops on the corner of Barbadoes Street and Edgeware Road. The second storey of the shops has collapsed, and the bricks have fallen to the footpath, taking the awnings with them. Police tape and road cones have been placed around the buildings as a cordon.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 11 May 2011 showing part of the window of Lyttelton Sea Foods on London Street. A handwritten sign taped to the window apologises for the shop's closure. The Restricted Use (yellow) placard is also taped to the window. With many of the commercial buildings in Lyttelton damaged or demolished, busi...
Cracks have ripped through external columns of this 7 storey building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street), and efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen it to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Cracks have ripped through external columns of this 7 storey building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street), and efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen it to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Cracks have ripped through external columns of this 7 storey building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street), and efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen it to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Following the magnitude 6.3 aftershock in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 22 February 2011, a number of researchers were sent to Christchurch as part of the New Zealand Natural Hazard Research Platform funded “Project Masonry” Recovery Project. Their goal was to document and interpret the damage to the masonry buildings and churches in the region. Approximately 650 unreinforced and retrofitted clay brick masonry buildings in the Christchurch area were surveyed for commonly occurring failure patterns and collapse mechanisms. The entire building stock of Christchurch, and in particular the unreinforced masonry building stock, is similar to that in the rest of New Zealand, Australia, and abroad, so the observations made here are relevant for the entire world.
Drywalls are the typical infill or partitions used in new structures. They are usually located within structural frames and/or between upper and lower floor slabs in buildings. Due to the materials used in their construction, unlike masonry blocks, they can be considered as light non-structural infill/partition walls. These types of walls are especially popular in New Zealand and the USA. In spite of their popularity, little is known about their in-plane cyclic behaviour when infilled within a structural frame. The cause of this lack of knowledge can be attributed to the typical assumption that they are weak non-structural elements and are not expected to interact with the surrounding structural system significantly. However, recent earthquakes have repeatedly shown that drywalls interact with the structure and suffer severe damage at very low drift levels. In this paper, experimental test results of two typical drywall types (steel and timber framed) are reported in order to gather further information on; i) their reverse cyclic behaviour, ii) inter-storey drift levels at which they suffer different levels of damage, iii) the level of interaction with the surrounding structural frame system. The drywall specimens were tested using quasi-static reverse cyclic testing protocols within a full scale precast RC frame at the Structures Laboratory of the University of Canterbury.
Damaged buildings along London Street. Wire fencing has been used to keep people away. From the left are the Volcano Cafe, the Lava Bar, a fish and chip shop, and the Coastal Living Design Store. Rubble from the side of the Volcano Cafe can be seen along the Canterbury Street footpath.