
Cunningham House at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens is still closed due to earthquake damage. I wonder if it will ever re-open or suffer the demolition fate many other iconic structures in Christchurch have.
Since September 2010 Christchurch, New Zealand, has experienced a number of significant earthquakes. In addition to loss of life, this has resulted in significant destruction to infrastructure, including road corridors; and buildings, especially in the central city, where it has been estimated that 60% of buildings will need to be rebuilt. The rebuild and renewal of Christchurch has initially focused on the central city under the direction of the Christchurch City Council. This has seen the development of a draft Central City Plan that includes a number of initiatives that should encourage the use of the bicycle as a mode of transport. The rebuild and renewal of the remainder of the city is under the jurisdiction of a specially set up authority, the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA). CERA reports to an appointed Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, who is responsible for coordinating the planning, spending, and actual rebuilding work needed for the recovery. Their plans for the renewal and rebuild of the remainder of the city are not yet known. This presentation will examine the potential role of the bicycle as a mode of transport in a rebuilt Christchurch. The presentation will start by describing the nature of damage to Christchurch as a result of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. It will then review the Central City Plan (the plan for the rebuild and renewal for central Christchurch) focusing particularly on those aspects that affect the role of the bicycle. The potential for the success of this plan will be assessed. It will specifically reflect on this in light of some recent research in Christchurch that examined the importance of getting infrastructure right if an aim of transport planning is to attract new people to cycle for utilitarian reasons.
By closely examining the performance of a 22-storey steel framed building in Christchurch subject to various earthquakes over the past seven years, it is shown that a number of lessons can be learnt regarding the cost-effective consideration of non-structural elements. The first point in this work is that non-structural elements significantly affected the costs associated with repairing steel eccentrically braced frame (EBF) links. The decommissioning or rerouting of non-structural elements in the vicinity of damaged links in the case study building attributed to approximately half the total cost of their repair. Such costs could be significantly reduced if the original positioning of non-structural elements took account of the potential need to repair the EBF links. The second point highlighted is the role that pre-cast cladding apparently played on the distribution and type of damage in the building. Loss estimates obtained following the FEMA P-58 framework vary considerably when cladding is or isnt modelled, both because of changes to drift demands up the height of the building and because certain types of subsequent damage are likely to be cheaper to repair than others. Finally, costly repairs to non-structural partition walls were required not only after the moment magnitude 7.1 earthquake in 2010 but also in multiple aftershocks in the years that followed. Repair costs associated with aftershock events exceeded those from the main event, emphasizing the need to consider aftershocks within modern performance-based earthquake engineering and also the opportunity that exists to make more cost-effective repair strategies following damaging earthquakes.
In recent Canterbury earthquakes, structures have performed well in terms of life safety but the estimated total cost of the rebuild was as high as $40 billion. The major contributors to this cost are repair/demolition/rebuild cost, the resulting downtime and business interruption. For this reason, the authors are exploring alternate building systems that can minimize the downtime and business interruption due to building damage in an earthquake; thereby greatly reducing the financial implications of seismic events. In this paper, a sustainable and demountable precast reinforced concrete (RC) frame system in which the precast members are connected via steel tubes/plates or steel angles/plates and high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolts is introduced. In the proposed system, damaged structural elements in seismic frames can be easily replaced with new ones; thereby making it an easily and quickly repairable and a low-loss system. The column to foundation connection in the proposed system can be designed either as fixed or pinned depending on the requirement of strength and stiffness. In a fixed base frame system, ground storey columns will also be damaged along with beams in seismic events, which are to be replaced after seismic events; whereas in a pin base frame only beams (which are easy to replace) will be damaged. Low to medium rise (3-6 storey) precast RC frame buildings with fixed and pin bases are analyzed in this paper; and their lateral capacity, lateral stiffness and natural period are scrutinized to better understand the pros and cons of the demountable precast frame system with fixed and pin base connections.
The Canterbury earthquakes, which started with the 7.1 magnitude event on September 4, 2010, caused significant damage in the region. The September 4 earthquakes brought substantial damage to land, buildings, and infrastructure, while the 6.3 magnitude earthquake on February 22, 2011 (and its subsequent aftershocks), brought even greater property damage, but also significant loss of life in addition to the region. Thousands were injured, and 185 persons died. A national State of Emergency was declared and remained in effect until April 30, 2011. A significant number of people required immediate assistance and support to deal with loss, injury, trauma experiences, and property damages. Many had to find alternate accommodation as their houses were too damaged to stay in. Of those affected, many were already vulnerable, and others had been too traumatized by the events to effectively deal with the challenges they were faced with. A number of human service organizations in the region, from both government and non-government sectors, joined forces to be able to more effectively and efficiently help those in need. This was the start of what would become known as the Earthquake Support Coordination Service. The aim of this report is to present an evaluation of the Earthquake Support Coordination Service and its collaborative organization, based on documentation and interviews with key stakeholders of the service. The aim is also to evaluate the service based on perspectives gathered among the clients as well as the coordinators working in the service. The final aim is to offer a reflection on the service model, and on what factors enabled the service, as well as recommendations regarding aspects of the service which may require review, and aspects which may be useful in other contexts.
Beverly Forrester farms near Harden which is down the road from Hanmer Springs. Road damage means she's cut off from the outside world, apart from her phone Beverly was caught up in the Christchurch earthquake, so the events of the last 24hrs have been quite trying for her.
A blog about the Family-owned and run bar in Poplar Lanes, Christchurch - home of live entertainment with bands and DJs, every Thursday to Saturday. Archived instances cover the Canterbury Earthquake when the bar had to close down due to damage.
Provides a map, the geological background, describes the effects, both in Christchurch and its surrounding areas, the damage to notable buildings, the financial exposure, the emergency response and relief efforts and the media coverage of the earthquake.
Site of SCIRT, an alliance between CERA, Christchurch City Council, the NZTA, and companies involved in the rebuild. Includes information about SCIRT; news; works notices; and information about damage assessment and rebuilding of roads, fresh water, wastewater and stormwater networks.
The Governors Bay community weren't going to accept a Christchurch council decision to close the 140 year old jetty following earthquake damage in 2011. Nick Harwood's part of the group and handily a geotechnical engineer.
A photograph of the earthquake damaged M J Knowles Building on Tuam Street. The wall has either collapsed or been removed leaving the inside of the building exposed. Loose bricks from the wall cover the footpath.
A photograph of the earthquake damaged M J Knowles Building on Tuam Street. The wall has either collapsed or been removed leaving the inside of the building exposed. Loose bricks from the wall cover the footpath.
A photograph of the earthquake damaged M J Knowles Building on Tuam Street. The wall has either collapsed or been removed leaving the inside of the building exposed. Loose bricks from the wall cover the footpath.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Lyttelton Port CEO, Peter Davie, right, explains the earthquake damage to transport minister, Steven Joyce, and MP Amy Adams, centre, at Gladstone Pier. Left is company chief financial officer, Kathy Meads".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Prime Minister John Key on his visit to Kaiapoi and Hororata to meet people badly affected and see the damage from the earthquake. Standing outside Blackwell's Department Store in Kaiapoi town centre".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Prime Minister John Key on his visit to Kaiapoi and Hororata to meet people badly affected and see the damage from the earthquake. Standing outside Blackwell's Department Store in Kaiapoi town centre".
USAR codes and a yellow sticker can be seen on the doors of a damaged building. The yellow sticker was part of a building assessment system used following the February earthquake and indicates that this building has limited access and needs further evaluation.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Owner of Real Groovy Records Paul Huggins outside their new premises in the old Penny Cycles building on the corner of Manchester and Tuam Streets after the earthquake damaged their old building".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Owner of Real Groovy Records Paul Huggins outside their new premises in the old Penny Cycles building on the corner of Manchester and Tuam Streets after the earthquake damaged their old building".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Owner of Real Groovy Records Paul Huggins outside their new premises in the old Penny Cycles building on the corner of Manchester and Tuam Streets after the earthquake damaged their old building".
The front of Christ Church Cathedral showing its broken tower. Bracing has been placed on the front wall to limit further damage. A walkway from Gloucester Street to the Square was opened up for a few days to allow the public a closer look.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".
Damage to the north side of the cathedral. A walkway from Gloucester Street to the Square was opened up for a few days to allow the public a closer look at the cathedral. Weeds can be seen growing around the war memorial in Cathedral Square.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Hugh Hobden, the Model Yacht Club's Commodore, said the club's sailing has been disrupted with the September earthquake severely damaging Victoria Lake, forcing their members to relocate to the Groynes ponds".