Photograph by Paul Corliss 2129

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of cordon fences around the damaged Knox Church.

Army personnel secure the cordon in the central city (3)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Army personnel secure the cordon in the central city.

Army personnel secure the cordon in the central city (2)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Army personnel secure the cordon in the central city.

Army personnel on duty at a cordon checkpoint

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Army personnel on duty at a cordon checkpoint on Manchester Street.

Kim Wright WEMO Photograph 008

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to Pretty Things on Colombo Street. Wire fencing, road cones and Civil Defence tape have been placed around the buildings as a cordon.

Dan Neely WEMO Photograph 18

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of residents walking down London Street in Lyttelton. In the background, the earthquake damage to the Ground Culinary Centre can be seen as well as a number of cordon fences.

Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 115

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph looking east down Hereford Street from the intersection with Durham Street. In the distance, members of the New Zealand Army are guarding a cordon fence.

Kim Wright WEMO Photograph 065

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of rubble and glass on the footpath outside Manchester Courts on the corner of Manchester and Hereford Streets. The photograph is taken through the wire of a cordon fence.

Army personnel at a cordon checkpoint

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Army personnel at the cordon checkpoint on Armagh street beside the Canterbury Provincial Chambers.

Army personnel at a cordon checkpoint (2)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Army personnel at a cordon checkpoint on Colombo Street, north of Cathedral Square.

Soldiers on duty at the cordon on Tuam Street

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Soldiers on duty at the cordon on Tuam Street, outside Office Max.

View through a cordon fence

Images, UC QuakeStudies

View through the cordon fence, looking down High Street with the Grand Chancellor in the background.

WEMO ERT Set 3 - February 2011 - Photograph 117

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of members of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team walking down Gloucester Street towards Latimer Square. To the right, shipping containers have been stacked beside the square. A cordon of wire fences and road cones have also been used to cordon off the street in the distance.

BeckerFraserPhotos May 2011 photograph 0610

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Crowne Plaza from the cordon".

Photograph by Paul Corliss 1862

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a woman walking past a cordon fence on Colombo Street in Sydenham.

Photograph by Paul Corliss 1863

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a woman walking past a cordon fence on Colombo Street in Sydenham.

Photograph by Paul Corliss 1861

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a woman walking past a cordon fence on Colombo Street in Sydenham.

BeckerFraserPhotos July 2011 photograph 1094

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Trucks registering and entering the CBD cordon".

BeckerFraserPhotos July 2011 photograph 1095

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Trucks registering and entering the CBD cordon".

Photograph by Paul Corliss 2441

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of flowers on a cordon fence outside a building on Cambridge Terrace.

To cordon or not to cordon: The inherent complexities of post-earthquake c…

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The use of post-earthquake cordons as a tool to support emergency managers after an event has been documented around the world. However, there is limited research that attempts to understand the use, effectiveness, inherent complexities, impacts and subsequent consequences of cordoning once applied. This research aims to fill that gap by providing a detailed understanding of first, the cordons and associated processes, and their implications in a post-earthquake scenario. We use a qualitative method to understand cordons through case studies of two cities where it was used in different temporal and spatial scales: Christchurch (2011) and Wellington (Kaikōura earthquake 2016), New Zealand. Data was collected through 21 expert interviews obtained through purposive and snowball sampling of key informants who were directly or indirectly involved in a decision-making role and/or had influence in relation to the cordoning process. The participants were from varying backgrounds and roles i.e. emergency managers, council members, business representatives, insurance representatives, police and communication managers. The data was transcribed, coded in Nvivo and then grouped based on underlying themes and concepts and then analyzed inductively. It is found that cordons are used primarily as a tool to control access for the purpose of life safety and security. But cordons can also be adapted to support recovery. Broadly, it can be synthesized and viewed based on two key aspects, ‘decision-making’ and ‘operations and management’, which overlap and interact as part of a complex system. The underlying complexity arises in large part due to the multitude of sectors it transcends such as housing, socio-cultural requirements, economics, law, governance, insurance, evacuation, available resources etc. The complexity further increases as the duration of cordon is extended.

Nic Johns and Mark Osborne WEMO Photograph 021

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a cordon made from wire fencing, road cones and tape on the intersection of Manchester and Welles Streets. In the background, bricks from a earthquake-damaged building are piled on the footpath.

WEMO ERT Set 3 - February 2011 - Photograph 173

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of emergency tape cordoning off Hereford Street near the end of the Christchurch City Council building. Tape has also been draped around St Elmo Courts as a cordon.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 04

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to The Painted Room on Colombo Street. The ceiling of the building has collapsed into the store, smashing the front window. Wire fencing and police tape has been placed around the building as a cordon.

Nic Johns and Mark Osborne WEMO Photograph 022

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a cordon made from wire fencing, road cones and tape on the intersection of Manchester and Welles Streets. In the background, bricks from a earthquake-damaged building are piled on the footpath.

BeckerFraserPhotos October 2011 photograph 123

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Soldier wayfinding for a tourist at the Gloucester Street cordon".

BeckerFraserPhotos October 2011 photograph 159

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The Bridge of Remembrance cordon fence".

Photograph by Paul Corliss 2501

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a city centre map attached to a cordon fence on Hereford Street.

Photograph by Paul Corliss 2655

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a cordon fence on the corner of Rangatira Terrace and Seamount Terrace.

Photograph by Paul Corliss 2502

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a city centre map attached to a cordon fence on Hereford Street.