Politicians have praised the courage and resilience shown by Canterbury residents following Saturday's earthquake. MPs from all the parties in Parliament had an opportunity to address the House this afternoon.
The Boss is back - and he and his band, the E Street band, are going to Christchurch on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the Canterbury earthquake this summer.
The entrance to a building has been spray painted after it has been cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
Every year on the 14th February we celebrate St. Valentine’s day with the exchanging of small tokens of our love and affection with our significant others. As so often is the case, the exact origins of this holiday are clouded … Continue reading →
Today’s post presents the story of William Bowen, a prominent Christchurch builder, as told by his residence at 441 Madras Street. Archaeologists recorded this building using building archaeology techniques before and during its post-earthquake demolition. 441 Madras Street was initially … ...
An interview with Coastal Resources Scientist, Justin Cope, and Natual Hazard Analyst, Marion Irwin. This interview was conducted by Emma Kelland as part of Deirdre Hart's Coastal and River Earthquake Research project .
A public talk by Jill Atkinson, Director of Strategy and Programmes at Environment Canterbury. This talk, entitled 'Land use recovery plan', formed part of the Plenary Three session, 'Designing the future'.
Portaloos on the Pine Mound, part of Festival of Flowers. This portaloo has been decorated with a small garden and footpath leading up to the entrance, and inside is a stuff figurine.
Portaloos on the Pine Mound, part of Festival of Flowers. Each portaloo was decorated with various floral features. This is the back of a portaloo and has been painted with some plantation.
Portaloos on the Pine Mound, part of Festival of Flowers. This portaloo has been decorated with a small garden and footpath leading up to the entrance, and inside is a stuff figurine.
Detail of the artwork 'Tony De In The Door (Government Life Building Studio Series' by Mike Hewson. These were installed on damaged buildings, this one being a building opposite the Cranmer Courts.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "The Lyttelton road tunnel closed after they found cracks after this morning's aftershocks, seen from the Heathcote valley end".
Spray painted codes outside a block of apartments after it had been cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
The side wall of a building has been spray painted after it was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
A concrete-block fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
A concrete-block fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
A concrete-block fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
A concrete-block fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
A concrete-block fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.
If you walk along the Avon River by Cashel Street you might catch a glimpse of the small gondolas taking their fares for a leisurely punt through the city and botanical gardens. Today this attraction is aimed largely at tourists, … Continue reading →
Today, art is my inspiration, at least as a starting point. The title of this blog post may seem whimsical, but it is both a practical description of our subject today and a reference to the art of centuries past. … Continue reading →
This presentation outlines the impacts on the Maori community of the Christchurch earthquakes including responses, resilience and population movements.
Roof and parapet of this building collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
Parapet and roof of this building collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
Parapet and roof of this building collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
This shop on Tuam Street survived rhe magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Crack in the parapet of this building, resulting from the magnitude 7,1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on 4 September 2010.
Parapet and roof of this building collapsed during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
The world is constantly changing. Christchurch, New Zealand, has recently experienced drastic changes after earthquakes struck the city. The earthquakes caused the city to physically shake, and the land to sink in some places and rise in others. Now further change is forcast and parts of Christchurch could be under water by 2115 according to experts. Climate change induced sea level rise is recognised as a international issue with potential impacts for coastal communities all over the world. The Chrischtchurch City Council is required to have a 100-year planning horizon for sea level rise and this means planning for at least one meter, and possibly up to two meters, of sea level rise by 2115. This dissertation investigates the planning response to slow onset disasters, change, and uncertainty, using the example of sea-level rise in Christchurch, and it examines the role of public participation in this. To achieve this, the ways in which planning theory and practice acknowledge uncertainty, and cope with change, were critically analysed along with the Christchurch City Council’s response to the Tonkin and Taylor predictions and modelling. Semi-structured interviews with professionals in natural hazards risk reduction, policy, and planning were conducted, and the previous and proposed Christchurch City District Plans were compared. Planning for sea level rise in Christchurch provides an example of how planners may cope with slow onset change. The results of this dissertation suggests that the favoured risk reduction strategy for coastal communities in Christchurch is an adaptation strategy, and at present there is no sign of managed retreat being employed. The results also suggests using a planning approach that involves public participation for best results when planning for change, uncertainty or slow onset disasters.
On 22 February 2011,a magnitude Mw 6.3 earthquake occurred with an epicenter located near Lyttelton at about 10km from Christchurch in Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand (Figure 1). Since this earthquake occurred in the midst of the aftershock activity which had continued since the 4 September 2010 Darfield Earthquake occurrence, it was considered to be an aftershock of the initial earthquake. Because of the short distance to the city and the shallower depth of the epicenter, this earthquake caused more significant damage to pipelines, traffic facilities, residential houses/properties and multi-story buildings in the central business district than the September 2010 Darfield Earthquake in spite of its smaller earthquake magnitude. Unfortunately, this earthquake resulted in significant number of casualties due to the collapse of multi-story buildings and unreinforced masonry structures in the city center of Christchurch. As of 4 April, 172 casualties were reported and the final death toll is expected to be 181. While it is extremely regrettable that Christchurch suffered a terrible number of victims, civil and geotechnical engineers have this hard-to-find opportunity to learn the response of real ground from two gigantic earthquakes which occurred in less than six months from each other. From geotechnical engineering point of view, it is interesting to discuss the widespread liquefaction in natural sediments, repeated liquefaction within short period and further damage to earth structures which have been damaged in the previous earthquake. Following the earthquake, an intensive geotechnical reconnaissance was conducted to capture evidence and perishable data from this event. The team included the following members: Misko Cubrinovski (University of Canterbury, NZ, Team Leader), Susumu Yasuda (Tokyo Denki University, Japan, JGS Team Leader), Rolando Orense (University of Auckland, NZ), Kohji Tokimatsu (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan), Ryosuke Uzuoka (Tokushima University, Japan), Takashi Kiyota (University of Tokyo, Japan), Yasuyo Hosono (Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan) and Suguru Yamada (University of Tokyo, Japan).