Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Seabreeze Close, Bexley".
A silt castle has been built by Christchurch East that wins the competition. Context: The eastern suburbs have had a lot of problems with liquefaction following earthquakes and aftershocks. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "27 Seabreeze Close, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "25 Seabreeze Close, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "25 Seabreeze Close, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley".
A digitally manipulated image of printer's type, spelling out "Safe Dust". The photographer comments, "After the September 2010 Christchurch earthquake liquefaction poured out of the ground mostly in the East of Christchurch. This silt, which was a form of sand was declared safe and would not harm gardens if it was spread around in moderation. After the February 2011 quake as a result of even more liquefaction and the sewers being ruptured, the liquefaction was declared as toxic. People clearing it up should wear a mask, boots and gloves especially when it had dried up and become dusty. This just so happens to be the words found on an old printing press".
An earthquake-damaged road in north-east Christchurch. The manhole in the centre of the road has risen and a road cone has been placed in the centre to warn road users. Residents have piled liquefaction from their properties on the side of the road where it will be collection by road maintenance contractors.
A crane sits beside the sewage treatment ponds in Bromley. In the distance can be seen large piles of liquefaction silt. The photographer comments, "Bromley sewage treatment ponds, under repair".
Liquefaction around QEII stadium. The photographer comments, "A Sunday afternoon ride to New Brighton, then back via Aranui, Wainoni, Dallington, and Richmond. Not a cheerful experience. QE2 stadium. View from Frosts Rd".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Bus stop in New Brighton Road. There is a lack of vertical points of reference in most of east Christchurch".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Morganwood St and Brynn Lane, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Oran and Waitaki Streets, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Bexley Road and Waitaki Street".
In the period between September 2010 and December 2011, Christchurch (New Zealand) and its surroundings were hit by a series of strong earthquakes including six significant events, all generated by local faults in proximity to the city: 4 September 2010 (Mw=7.1), 22 February 2011 (Mw=6.2), 13 June 2011 (Mw=5.3 and Mw=6.0) and 23 December 2011 (M=5.8 and (M=5.9) earthquakes. As shown in Figure 1, the causative faults of the earthquakes were very close to or within the city boundaries thus generating very strong ground motions and causing tremendous damage throughout the city. Christchurch is shown as a lighter colour area, and its Central Business District (CBD) is marked with a white square area in the figure. Note that the sequence of earthquakes started to the west of the city and then propagated to the south, south-east and east of the city through a set of separate but apparently interacting faults. Because of their strength and proximity to the city, the earthquakes caused tremendous physical damage and impacts on the people, natural and built environments of Christchurch. The 22 February 2011 earthquake was particularly devastating. The ground motions generated by this earthquake were intense and in many parts of Christchurch substantially above the ground motions used to design the buildings in Christchurch. The earthquake caused 182 fatalities, collapse of two multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings, collapse or partial collapse of many unreinforced masonry structures including the historic Christchurch Cathedral. The Central Business District (CBD) of Christchurch, which is the central heart of the city just east of Hagley Park, was practically lost with majority of its 3,000 buildings being damaged beyond repair. Widespread liquefaction in the suburbs of Christchurch, as well as rock falls and slope/cliff instabilities in the Port Hills affected tens of thousands of residential buildings and properties, and shattered the lifelines and infrastructure over approximately one third of the city area. The total economic loss caused by the 2010-2011 Christchurch earthquakes is currently estimated to be in the range between 25 and 30 billion NZ dollars (or 15% to 18% of New Zealand’s GDP). After each major earthquake, comprehensive field investigations and inspections were conducted to document the liquefaction-induced land damage, lateral spreading displacements and their impacts on buildings and infrastructure. In addition, the ground motions produced by the earthquakes were recorded by approximately 15 strong motion stations within (close to) the city boundaries providing and impressive wealth of data, records and observations of the performance of ground and various types of structures during this unusual sequence of strong local earthquakes affecting a city. This paper discusses the liquefaction in residential areas and focuses on its impacts on dwellings (residential houses) and potable water system in the Christchurch suburbs. The ground conditions of Christchurch including the depositional history of soils, their composition, age and groundwater regime are first discussed. Detailed liquefaction maps illustrating the extent and severity of liquefaction across Christchurch triggered by the sequence of earthquakes including multiple episodes of severe re-liquefaction are next presented. Characteristic liquefaction-induced damage to residential houses is then described focussing on the performance of typical house foundations in areas affected by liquefaction. Liquefaction impacts on the potable water system of Christchurch is also briefly summarized including correlation between the damage to the system, liquefaction severity, and the performance of different pipe materials. Finally, the characteristics of Christchurch liquefaction and its impacts on built environment are discussed in relation to the liquefaction-induced damage in Japan during the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. Look at the angles in this doorway and the pile of silt".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Seabreeze Close and Wetlands Grove, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Micham Place, Fordingham and Sopley Lanes, Bexley".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. Through the window pane beside the door you can see silt piled about 30 cm high inside the house".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "23 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. The view through the window here shows the size of the silt piled against the front door".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "25 Seabreeze Close, Bexley. View through the window shows the crack in the floor slab, and a pile of silt in the corner of the room".
Liquefaction around QEII stadium. The photographer comments, "A Sunday afternoon ride to New Brighton, then back via Aranui, Wainoni, Dallington, and Richmond. Not a cheerful experience. QE2 stadium. From Frosts Rd, looking along Robin Tait Drive - the stadium looks OK from this distance, though the land has sunk and become waterlogged".
A sewage pumping station on Avonside Drive near the intersection with Robson Avenue has been lifted out of the ground by liquefaction. The photographer comments, "A Sunday afternoon ride to New Brighton, then back via Aranui, Wainoni, Dallington, and Richmond. Not a cheerful experience. Pumping station. Another hydraulically-lifted sewage pumping station, this time on Avonside Drive".
Text reads 'Latest Christchurch East band' The name of the band is 'The Silty Stones' and the band sings 'We can't get no... sa-tis-faction! 'Cos we got more li-qui-faction! And we cry, and we cry, and we try to get by We can't get no sa-tis-faction!' The band are cleaning up the latest liquefaction from around a house and are using their tools as musical instruments. Context: there was a 4.9 magnitude aftershock in Canterbury on December 26th (Boxing Day 2011) The song is a take-off of the 'Rolling Stones' song 'We can't get no satisfaction'. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A sewage pumping station on Avonside Drive has been lifted out of the ground by liquefaction. In the background, the damaged Snell Place footbridge over the Avon River is closed off with cordon fencing. The photographer comments, "A Sunday afternoon ride to New Brighton, then back via Aranui, Wainoni, Dallington, and Richmond. Not a cheerful experience. Dallington footbridge. The two pieces of this foot bridge have moved towards each other, so the bridge has developed quite a peak. The sewage pumping station has been heaved out of the ground by hydraulic pressure during quakes".
Damage to a house in Richmond. The brick wall is badly cracked and twisted, and some bricks have fallen, exposing the lining paper below. The driveway is cracked and covered in liquefaction. The photographer comments, "These photos show our old house in River Rd. More shaking damage on the east wall of the living room at our house".
The 22 February 2011, Mw6.2-6.3 Christchurch earthquake is the most costly earthquake to affect New Zealand, causing 181 fatalities and severely damaging thousands of residential and commercial buildings, and most of the city lifelines and infrastructure. This manuscript presents an overview of observed geotechnical aspects of this earthquake as well as some of the completed and on-going research investigations. A unique aspect, which is particularly emphasized, is the severity and spatial extent of liquefaction occurring in native soils. Overall, both the spatial extent and severity of liquefaction in the city was greater than in the preceding 4th September 2010 Darfield earthquake, including numerous areas that liquefied in both events. Liquefaction and lateral spreading, variable over both large and short spatial scales, affected commercial structures in the Central Business District (CBD) in a variety of ways including: total and differential settlements and tilting; punching settlements of structures with shallow foundations; differential movements of components of complex structures; and interaction of adjacent structures via common foundation soils. Liquefaction was most severe in residential areas located to the east of the CBD as a result of stronger ground shaking due to the proximity to the causative fault, a high water table approximately 1m from the surface, and soils with composition and states of high susceptibility and potential for liquefaction. Total and differential settlements, and lateral movements, due to liquefaction and lateral spreading is estimated to have severely compromised 15,000 residential structures, the majority of which otherwise sustained only minor to moderate damage directly due to inertial loading from ground shaking. Liquefaction also had a profound effect on lifelines and other infrastructure, particularly bridge structures, and underground services. Minor damage was also observed at flood stop banks to the north of the city, which were more severely impacted in the 4th September 2010 Darfield earthquake. Due to the large high-frequency ground motion in the Port hills numerous rock falls and landslides also occurred, resulting in several fatalities and rendering some residential areas uninhabitable.
Shows three new houses sinking into liquefaction after another series of strong aftershocks in early January. A sign reads 'Parklands' and an observer confidently asserts that it is safe to rebuild. Context: the suburb of Parklands in north east Christchurch has been badly damaged by liquifaction. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).