Sandbags placed along the river bank to prevent flooding onto the road. The earthquake caused the ground in this area to subside , making it susceptible to flooding.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view looking into the central city from the banks of the River Avon just below the Colombo Street bridge".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "An aerial photograph showing extreme examples of lateral spreading on the banks of the River Avon near the rowing clubs at Kerrs Reach".
A view down a New Brighton Road next to the river. On the left sandbags have been placed on the banks of the river to prevent flooding onto the road. The earthquake caused the ground to subside and sink, making this area susceptible to flooding.
A view down a New Brighton Road next to the river. On the left sandbags have been placed on the banks of the river to prevent flooding onto the road. The earthquake caused the ground in this area to subside, making it susceptible to flooding.
Damage to River Road in Richmond. The road is badly cracked and buckled, and is partly blocked off with road cones and warning tape. In the background is a truck carrying more road cones and signs. The photographer comments, "Major slumps and cracks along River Rd. Near 381 River Rd, looking towards the Banks Ave - Dallington Terrace corner".
Damage to River Road in Richmond. The road is badly cracked and has slumped towards the river. Road cones and warning tape block off the road to vehicles. The photographer comments, "The end of River Rd, at the corner of Banks Ave-McBratneys Rd-Dallington Tce. Morons in 4WDs kept wanting to drive through here".
The banks of the Avon River along Avonside Drive have been built up with gravel. The street is flooded, and has been closed off with fencing and road cones.
The banks of the Avon River along Avonside Drive have been built up with gravel. The street is flooded, and has been closed off with fencing and road cones.
A photograph taken across the Avon River of large cracks in the bank between Park Terrace and the footpath. Road cones have been placed along the street to warn road users.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Signpost on the banks of the Avon with the Belgian Beer Cafe behind".
A sign reading, "Road closed" on a footpath beside the Kaiapoi River in Kaiapoi. Behind it excavators can be seen levelling a bank for a new footpath to be laid on.
A copy of a letter from Seamus O'Cromtha which was sent to the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on 3 September 2016. The letter was sent on behalf of Empowered Christchurch. In the letter, O'Cromtha calls on the Chief Executive to instruct the Christchurch City Council to stop issuing building consents in areas such as the Avon River floodplain until stop banks have been erected along the river. O'Cromtha comments, "Properties that should be protected by stop banks currently have no protection against flooding".
Damage to Avonside Drive. The street is closed off with cones and a "Road closed" sign, and portaloos line the street. The banks of the Avon River have been built up with gravel.
Liquefaction and flooding on Avonside Drive. The street is closed off with cones and a "Road closed" sign, and portaloos line the street. The banks of the Avon River have been built up with gravel.
The Edmonds Band Rotunda on the bank of the Avon River, Cambridge Terrace. The brickwork of the building has been damaged by the earthquake and wire fencing has been placed around the building to keep people away.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cambridge Terrace, near the Colombo Street Bridge. The melancholy air of this stretch of the river bank matches the sombre tone of the PGC site just across the road, where 18 people died".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Kate Sheppard memorial, near the former Municipal Chambers on the Avon Riverbank".
A photograph of a member of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team standing on the bank of the Avon River. In the background are the remains of the collapsed PGC Building. An excavator is on top of these remains, working to clear them away.
A photograph of a member of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team standing on the bank of the Avon River. In the background are the remains of the collapsed PGC Building. An excavator is on top of these remains, working to clear them away.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Kate Sheppard memorial, near the former Municipal Chambers on the Avon Riverbank".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A section of Avonside Drive shows how the infrastructure is no longer maintained to the same level, with regard to roading, sewage and water services. Even the grass on the banks of the River Avon is no longer mown as regularly".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Rose and Richard in front of their house at 464 Avonside Drive. They decided to only move once, so are staying in Avonside Drive while Richard completes the build of their new home. Rose is keeping an eye on the neighbourhood during her daily walks along the river bank".
We examined the stratigraphy of alluvial fans formed at the steep range front of the Southern Alps at Te Taho, on the north bank of the Whataroa River in central West Coast, South Island, New Zealand. The range front coincides with the Alpine Fault, an Australian-Pacific plate boundary fault, which produces regular earthquakes. Our study of range front fans revealed aggradation at 100- to 300-year intervals. Radiocarbon ages and soil residence times (SRTs) estimated by a quantitative profile development index allowed us to elucidate the characteristics of four episodes of aggradation since 1000 CE. We postulate a repeating mode of fan behaviour (fan response cycle [FRC]) linked to earthquake cycles via earthquake-triggered landslides. FRCs are characterised by short response time (aggradation followed by incision) and a long phase when channels are entrenched and fan surfaces are stable (persistence time). Currently, the Te Taho and Whataroa River fans are in the latter phase. The four episodes of fan building we determined from an OxCal sequence model correlate to Alpine Fault earthquakes (or other subsidiary events) and support prior landscape evolution studies indicating ≥M7.5 earthquakes as the main driver of episodic sedimentation. Our findings are consistent with other historic non-earthquake events on the West Coast but indicate faster responses than other earthquake sites in New Zealand and elsewhere where rainfall and stream gradients (the basis for stream power) are lower. Judging from the thickness of fan deposits and the short response times, we conclude that pastoral farming (current land-use) on the fans and probably across much of the Whataroa River fan would be impossible for several decades after a major earthquake. The sustainability of regional tourism and agriculture is at risk, more so because of the vulnerability of the single through road in the region (State Highway 6).
The Canterbury earthquakes resulted in numerous changes to the waterways of Ōtautahi Christchurch. These included bank destabilisation, liquefaction effects, changes in bed levels, and associated effects on flow regimes and inundation levels. This study set out to determine if these effects had altered the location and pattern of sites utilised by īnanga (Galaxias maculatus) for spawning, which are typically restricted to very specific locations in upper estuarine areas. Extensive surveys were carried out in the Heathcote/Ōpāwaho and Avon/Ōtākaro catchments over the four peak months of the 2015 spawning season. New spawning sites were found in both rivers and analysis against pre-earthquake records identified that other significant changes have occurred. Major changes include the finding of many new spawning sites in the Heathcote/Ōpāwaho catchment. Sites now occur up to 1.5km further downstream than the previously reported limit and include the first records of spawning below the Woolston Cut. Spawning sites in the Avon/Ōtākaro catchment also occur in new locations. In the mainstem, sites now occur both upstream and downstream of all previously reported locations. A concentrated area of spawning was identified in Lake Kate Sheppard at a distinctly different location versus pre-quake records, and no spawning was found on the western shores. Spawning was also recorded for the first time in Anzac Creek, a nearby waterway connected to Lake Kate Sheppard via a series of culverts.
This thesis presents an assessment of historic seismic performance of the New Zealand stopbank network from the 1968 Inangahua earthquake through to the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. An overview of the types of stopbanks and the main aspects of the design and construction of earthen stopbanks was presented. Stopbanks are structures that are widely used on the banks of rivers and other water bodies to protect against the impact of flood events. Earthen stopbanks are found to be the most used for such protection measures. Different stopbank damage or failure modes that may occur due to flooding or earthquake excitation were assessed with a focus on past earthquakes internationally, and examples of these damage and failure modes were presented. Stopbank damage and assessment reports were collated from available reconnaissance literature to develop the first geospatial database of stopbank damage observed in past earthquakes in New Zealand. Damage was observed in four earthquakes over the past 50 years, with a number of earthquakes resulting in no stopbank damage. The damage database therefore focussed on the Edgecumbe, Darfield, Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes. Cracking of the crest and liquefaction-induced settlement were the most common forms of damage observed. To understand the seismic demand on the stopbank network in past earthquakes, geospatial analyses were undertaken to approximate the peak ground acceleration (PGA) across the stopbank network for ten large earthquakes that have occurred in New Zealand over the past 50 years. The relationship between the demand, represented by the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and damage is discussed and key trends identified. Comparison of the seismic demand and the distribution of damage suggested that the seismic performance of the New Zealand stopbank network has been generally good across all events considered. Although a significant length of the stopbank networks were exposed to high levels of shaking in past events, the overall damage length was a small percentage of this. The key aspect controlling performance was the performance of the underlying foundation soils and the effect of this on the stopbank structure and stability.