Small, tight-knit communities, are complex to manage from outside during a disaster. The township of Lyttelton, New Zealand, and the communities of Corsair Bay, Cass Bay, and Rapaki to the east, are especially more so difficult due to the terrain that encloses them, which caused them to be cut-off from Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island, barely 10 km away, after the Mw 7.1 Darfield Earthquake and subsequent Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. Lyttelton has a very strong and deep-rooted community spirit that draws people to want to be a part of Lyttelton life. It is predominantly residential on the slopes, with retail space, service and light industry nestled near the harbour. It has heritage buildings stretching back to the very foundation of Canterbury yet hosts the largest, modern deep-water port for the region. This study contains two surveys: one circulated shortly before the Darfield Earthquake and one circulated in July 2011, after the Christchurch and Sumner Earthquakes. An analytical comparison of the participants’ household preparedness for disaster before the Darfield Earthquake and after the Christchurch and Sumner Earthquakes was performed. A population spatiotemporal distribution map was produced that shows the population in three-hourly increments over a week to inform exposure to vulnerability to natural hazards. The study went on to analyse the responses of the participants in the immediate period following the Chrsitchurch and Sumner Earthquakes, including their homeward and subsequent journeys, and the decision to evacuate or stay in their homes. Possible predictors to a decision to evacuate some or all members of the household were tested. The study also asked participants’ views on the events since September 2010 for analysis.
The 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence was extremely damaging to structures in Christchurch and continues to have a large economic and social impact on the city and surrounding regions. In addition to strong ground shaking (Bradley and Cubrinovski 2011 SRL; Bradley 2012 SDEE), extensive liquefaction was observed, particularly in the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake and the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake (Cubrinovski et al. 2010 BNZSEE; 2011 SRL). Large observed vertical ground motion amplitudes were recorded in the events in this sequence, with vertical peak ground accelerations of over 2.2g being observed at the Heathcote Valley Primary School during the Christchurch earthquake, and numerous other vertical motions exceeding 1.0g (Bradley and Cubrinovski 2011 SRL; Bradley 2012 SDEE; Fry et al 2011 SRL). Vertical peak ground accelerations of over 1.2g were observed in the Darfield earthquake.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch earthquake. Rachel Hood (Darfield) with her daughters Izra (3) and Jasmine (1) who she is putting on an aircraft and getting out of Christchurch because of the earthquakes".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch earthquake. Rachel Hood (Darfield) with her daughters Izra (3) and Jasmine (1) who she is putting on an aircraft and getting out of Christchurch because of the earthquakes".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch earthquake. Rachel Hood (Darfield) with her daughters Izra (3) and Jasmine (1) who she is putting on an aircraft and getting out of Christchurch because of the earthquakes".
Ground heaving on the faultline from which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
The ground literally opened up! On the previously unknown faultline along which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
The ground literally opened up! On the previously unknown faultline along which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
The ground literally opened up! On the previously unknown faultline along which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
The ground literally opened up! On the previously unknown faultline along which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
At 4.35am on Saturday 4 September 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near the township of Darfield in Canterbury leading to widespread damage in Christchurch and the wider central Canterbury region. Though it was reported no lives were lost, that was not entirely correct. Over 3,000 animals perished as a result of the earthquake and 99% of these deaths would have been avoidable if appropriate mitigation measures had been in place. Deaths were predominantly due to zoological vulnerability of birds in captive production farms. Other problems included lack of provision of animal welfare at evacuation centres, issues associated with multiple lost and found pet services, evacuation failure due to pet separation and stress impact on dairy herds and associated milk production. The Canterbury Earthquake has highlighted concerns over a lack of animal emergency welfare planning and capacity in New Zealand, an issue that is being progressed by the National Animal Welfare Emergency Management Group. As animal emergency management becomes better understood by emergency management and veterinary professionals, it is more likely that both sectors will have greater demands placed upon them by national guidelines and community expectations to ensure provisions are made to afford protection of animals in times of disaster. A subsequent and more devastating earthquake struck the region on Monday 22 February 2011; this article however is primarily focused on the events pertaining to the September 4 event.
At Greendale Faultline on Highfield Road in mid-Canterbury, where the magnitude 7.1 earthquake on 4 September 2010 originated.
Heaving and subsidence on the faultline left scars where the magnitude 7.1 earthquake on Saturday 4 September 2010 originated.
The latest (but temporary) tourist attraction in mid-Canterbury! This was the previously unknown faultline where the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
At Greendale Faultline on Highfield Road in mid-Canterbury, where the magnitude 7.1 earthquake on 4 September 2010 originated.
At Greendale Faultline on Highfield Road in mid-Canterbury, where the magnitude 7.1 earthquake on 4 September 2010 originated.
Tension cracks at least 300 mm deep, on the previously unknown faultline from which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Long trek: Darfield's Cameron Carter is going on a fundraising walk to Christchurch with his mum Bridget, after overcoming his fear of earthquakes".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "St Paul's Presbyterian Church on Seddon Street, Timaru, which was damaged by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake centred near Darfield on 4 September".
This paper provides an overview of the salient aspects of the dense array of ground motions observed in the 4 September 2010 Darfield and 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Particular attention is given to inferred physical reasons for the observed ground motions, which include: (i) source features such as forward directivity effects; (ii) The effects of the Canterbury Plains sedimentary basin on basin-generated surface waves, and waveguide effects through the region; and (iii) the importance of local site response as evidenced by observations of large long period amplification and liquefaction. The significance of vertical ground motion intensity is also examined.
Looking across the faultline where the Saturday 4 September 2010 magnitude 7.1 earthquake originated. Note how much the previously straight fence is now out of alignment.
Looking across the faultline where the Saturday 4 September 2010 magnitude 7.1 earthquake originated. Note how much the previously straight fence is now out of alignment.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "St. Mary's Anglican Church in Timaru is cordoned off due to the risk of falling masonry after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake centered near Darfield".
Deborah Nation recalls visits to Homebush, the historic Deans homestead near Darfield, the wreckage of which became one of the most viewed images in the first days after the September 2010 Canterbury earthquake.
The 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence began with the 4 September 2010, Mw7.1 Darfield earthquake and includes up to ten events that induced liquefaction. Most notably, widespread liquefaction was induced by the Darfield and Mw6.2 Christchurch earthquakes. The combination of well-documented liquefaction response during multiple events, densely recorded ground motions for the events, and detailed subsurface characterization provides an unprecedented opportunity to add well-documented case histories to the liquefaction database. This paper presents and applies 50 high-quality cone penetration test (CPT) liquefaction case histories to evaluate three commonly used, deterministic, CPT-based simplified liquefaction evaluation procedures. While all the procedures predicted the majority of the cases correctly, the procedure proposed by Idriss and Boulanger (2008) results in the lowest error index for the case histories analyzed, thus indicating better predictions of the observed liquefaction response.
On 4 September 2010 the Magnitude 7.1 'Darfield' Earthquake marked the beginning of the Canterbury earthquake sequence. The Darfield earthquake produced strong ground shaking throughout the centralCanterbury Plains, affecting rural areas, small towns and the city of Christchurch. The event produced a 29km long surface rupture through intensive farmland, causing localised flooding and liquefaction. The central Canterbury plains were subjected to a sustained period of thousands of aftershocks in the months after the Darfield earthquake. The primary sector is a major component of the in New Zealand economy. Business units are predominantly small family-run farm organisations, though there are increasing levels of corporate farming. The agribusiness sector contributes 20 per cent of real GDP and 47 per cent of total exports for New Zealand. Of the approximately 2,000 farms that are located in the Canterbury Plains, the most common farming sectors in the region are Mixed farming (mostly comprised of sheep and/or beef farming), Dairy farming, and Arable farming (cropping). Many farms on the Canterbury Plains require some form of irrigation and are increasingly capital intensive, reliant on built infrastructure, technology and critical services. Farms are of great significance to their local rural economies, with many rural non-farming organisations dependent on the health of local farming organisations. Despite the economic significance of the sector, there have been few, if any studies analysing how modern intensive farms are affected by earthquakes. The aim of this report is to (1) summarise the impacts the Darfield earthquake had on farming organisations and outline in general terms how farms are vulnerable to the effects of an earthquake; (2) identify what factors helped mitigate earthquake-related impacts. Data for this paper was collected through two surveys of farming and rural non-farming organisations following the earthquake and contextual interviews with affected organisations. In total, 78 organisations participated in the study (Figure 1). Farming organisations represented 72% (N=56) of the sample.
Slipping of the tectonic plates caused tension cracks on this previously unknown faultline that runs through this paddock; magnitude 7.1 earthquake in mid-Canterbury on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Slipping of the tectonic plates caused tension cracks on this previously unknown faultline that runs through this paddock; magnitude 7.1 earthquake in mid-Canterbury on Saturday 4 September 2010.
This originally straight farm fence has been laterally displaced at least 2 metres where it crosses the previously unknown faultline from which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.
This originally straight farm fence has been laterally displaced at least 2 metres where it crosses the previously unknown Greendale Faultline from which the Saturday 4 September 2010 earthquake originated.