Heritage supporters are hoping that serious earthquake damage wrought upon Christchurch cemeteries will be repaired- but the issue of who funds that work remains unresolved.
Some Christchurch drainlayers repairing damage from the Canterbury Earthquake say there are delays and confusion in getting repayments from the earthquake commission.
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.
With Christchurch having its first real taste of winter , the Earthquake Commission is telling Christchurch residents that its focus is on emergency repairs.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority wants private insurers to provide homeowners with clear timeframes for when earthquake repairs will be carried out.
Christchurch people who have had to battle insurance companies over the repair or rebuild of earthquake damaged homes are welcoming the Labour party's idea of an earthquake court to settle disputes.
Christchurch homeowners speak to Checkpoint about their battles with EQC, to have their homes repaired to "as new" standard, not "pre earthquake".
Lawrence Roberts' blog for those living in Cowlishaw Street, Chaddesden Lane, Patten Street, Retreat Road and close by. Includes information and news on earthquake assessment, repairs/rebuilding and related matters; and photo gallery.
Some Canterbury homeowners are worried that missed earthquake damage to concrete slabs could result in another big bill for the taxpayer. This comes only weeks after EQC told Checkpoint that the cost of mis-scoped damage or defective repairs following the Canterbury earthquakes could cost up to $1 billion. This includes $450 million for botched repairs, including badly repaired rubble ring foundations, and $300 million for an ex gratia payment to about 1000 over-cap onsold homeowners. But some Canterbury homeowners who bought after the earthquakes - and did their due diligence - are only discovering damage to their concrete slab foundations now. Logan Church reports.
Christchurch City Council staff have been given the hurry up from councillors over the length of time it is taking to repair or replace earthquake-damaged council housing.
A structural engineer has denied he rushed the inspection of earthquake repairs to a Christchurch bar so it could re-open in time for New Years Eve.
In the Know aims to make it faster and easier for Canterbury residents to get information about the residential rebuild and repair process.
Maps comparing road repairs needed after the 4 September 2010 and 22 February 2011 earthquakes.
The Medway Street footbridge in Richmond has warped beyond repair in the February 2011 earthquake.
The Medway Street footbridge in Richmond has warped beyond repair in the February 2011 earthquake.
The Minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, says the recovery process from Canterbury's earthquake is moving quickly, despite strong aftershocks yesterday setting back repair work.
In June, the Hororata hotel in Canterbury closed after it became clear there was no economic way to repair damage caused by the September earthquake.
Repairs in progress on this High Street shop; aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Recent severe earthquakes, such as the 2010-2011 Christchurch earthquake series, have put emphasis on building resilience all over the world. To achieve such resilience, procedures for low damage seismic design have been developed to satisfy both life safety requirements and the need to minimize undesirable economic effects of required building repair or structural member replacement following a major earthquake. Seismic resisting systems following this concept are expected to withstand severe earthquakes without requiring major post-earthquake repairs, using isolating mechanisms or sacrificial systems that either do not need repair or are readily repairable or replaceable. These include the sliding hinge joint with asymmetric friction connections (SHJAFCs) in beam-to-column connections of the moment resisting steel frames (MRSFs) and symmetric friction connections (SFCs) in braces of the braced frames. A 9 m tall, configurable three-storey steel framed composite floor building incorporating frictionbased connections is to be tested using two linked bi-directional shake tables at the International joint research Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering (ILEE) facilities, Shanghai, China. The structural systems are configurable, allowing different moment and braced frame structural systems tested in two horizontal directions. The structure is designed and detailed to undergo, at worst, minor damage under a planned series of severe earthquakes.
The Canterbury District Health Board is facing a bill in excess of $70-million to repair earthquake damage to more than seven and a half thousand rooms in two of its hospitals.
The company hired by the Government to carry out earthquake repairs in Canterbury is refusing to install insulation at the same time as it replaces old cladding on houses.
A Christchurch support group says home owners will be alarmed at the blowout in earthquake repair costs.
New assessment guidelines are reclassifying houses which were previously written off as being repairable, leaving owners up to $180,000 worse off. Kathryn talks to Leanne Curtis, spokesperson for the Canterbury Community Earthquake Recovery Network, and Renee Walker, spokesperson for IAG New Zealand.
The bill to fix botched EQC repairs from the Canterbury earthquakes has hit $270 million - four times what the previous Government predicted just two years ago. The Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission, Megan Woods, has asked Treasury to urgently crunch some figures to give the Government an idea of its future liability, with many experts warning thousands more homes may be affected. The former Canterbury Rebuild Minister Gerry Brownlee, who was in the job for six years until a year ago, speaks to Guyon Espiner.
A small wooden cross is inserted between stones laid out in the shape of a large cross. The photographer comments, "This is an Earthquake Memorial on Manchester Street, Christchurch, New Zealand. This message is on the tree next to the memorial: 'Earthquake Memorial. 185 people died as a result of the 22 February 2011 earthquake. 185 precious lives are remembered here, with 185 pieces of Halswell stone recovered from St Luke's Church, damaged beyond repair on that day. May they rest in peace. St Luke's in the City'".
Repair work on Christchurch's iconic Town Hall, badly damaged in the earthquakes, has nearly hit the halfway mark.
People can walk over Christchurch's Bridge of Remembrance once again, after nearly seven million dollars in earthquake repairs.
South Library is the last of the council's libraries to be rebuilt or repaired following the Canterbury earthquakes.
In its latest update, the Earthquake Commission says it will have to manage repairs to 50-thousand homes moderately or seriously damaged by the Canterbury earthquake four weeks ago.
The Earthquake Commission has announced it is slashing 480 jobs as its repair work in Canterbury enters its final phase.