Shortly after 4 o’clock this morning the whole of the South and a portion of the North Island was shaken by a violent shock of earthquake, the most severe experienced for more than 20 years……
This study contains an evaluation of the seismic hazard associated with the Springbank Fault, a blind structure discovered in 1998 close to Christchurch. The assessment of the seismic hazard is approached as a deterministic process in which it is necessary to establish: 1) fault characteristics; 2) the maximum earthquake that the fault is capable of producing and 3) ground motions estimations. Due to the blind nature of the fault, conventional techniques used to establish the basic fault characteristics for seismic hazard assessments could not be applied. Alternative methods are used including global positioning system (GPS) surveys, morphometric analyses along rivers, shallow seismic reflection surveys and computer modelling. These were supplemented by using multiple empirical equations relating fault attributes to earthquake magnitude, and attenuation relationships to estimate ground motions in the near-fault zone. The analyses indicated that the Springbank Fault is a reverse structure located approximately 30 km to the northwest of Christchurch, along a strike length of approximately 16 km between the Eyre and Ashley River. The fault does not reach the surface, buy it is associated with a broad anticline whose maximum topographic expression offers close to the mid-length of the fault. Two other reverse faults, the Eyrewell and Sefton Faults, are inferred in the study area. These faults, together with the Springbank and Hororata Faults and interpreted as part of a sys of trust/reverse faults propagating from a decollement located at mid-crustal depths of approximately 14 km beneath the Canterbury Plains Within this fault system, the Springbank Fault is considered to behave in a seismically independent way, with a fault slip rate of ~0.2 mm/yr, and the capacity of producing a reverse-slip earthquake of moment magnitude ~6.4, with an earthquake recurrence of 3,000 years. An earthquake of the above characteristics represents a significant seismic hazard for various urban centres in the near-fault zone including Christchurch, Rangiora, Oxford, Amberley, Kaiapoi, Darfield, Rollestion and Cust. Estimated peak ground accelerations for these towns range between 0.14 g to 0.5 g.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Children at Frankley School dressed in Canterbury colours last week to help raise funds for earthquake victims".
A photograph looking north up Liverpool Street from the intersection with Cashel Street. On the right, a pile of collapsed scaffolding can be seen on the road and two excavators are demolishing a building in the distance.
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Dried liquefaction silt in North New Brighton. The photographer comments, "The day before this was liquefaction pouring out of the ground, but within a day it has dried up and will soon turn into a gritty dust".
A photograph looking north down Manchester Street. Coloured shipping containers have been stacked in front of the remaining facade of the Excelsior Hotel building on the right and empty building sites on the left are fenced off.
The wooden church of St Luke the Evangelist, stood in Manchester Street, just north of the Avon, from 1858 until it was pulled down in 1908 to make way for a larger stone and brick structure, faced…
Members of the Shirley community relaxing around a table set up by the World Mission Society Church of God on North Parade in Shirley. A member of the church can be seen holding a sign advertising free sausages.
A view down High Street, looking north-west from the Tuam Street intersection. On the left a line of shipping containers support the facade of a damaged building. Rubble from demolished buildings can be seen in the distance.
A photograph looking north up Colombo Street from the intersection with Gloucester Street. Rubble from earthquake-damaged buildings is sitting on both sides of the street. The road has been closed ahead with plastic fencing and road cones.
A man takes a photograph inside a damaged house in Richmond. The photographer comments, "Revisiting our abandoned house. Cracks in the north side of the kitchen. (My brother Ross from Invercargill was visiting, he's in several of these)".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The intersection of Colombo and Cashel Streets with the Triangle Centre in the final stages of demolition".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Moira Fraser adding scale to the size of the bumps and lumps in Madras Street near the intersection with Armagh Street. The road maintenance crew in the background are working on clearing these bumps".
A drain grating and surround sit on top of a broken curb. The photographer comments, "You can see that the drain cover no longer fits, but there is a metal surrounding that also has to be placed in first".
In the beginning there was no Te Wai Pounamu or Aotearoa. The waters of Kiwa rolled over the place now occupied by the South Island, the North Island and Stewart Island. No sign of land existed. Before Raki (the Sky … Continue reading →
Liquefaction and buckled tarmac on a residential street in North New Brighton. The photographer comments, "In the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch the kerb at the end of my road was pushed from both ends. This caused it to move away from the grass verge and push itself under the tarmac. The tarmac would normally have been 3 inches below the top of the kerb. Between the kerb and the grass can be seen the colour of the liquefaction that spewed out from the ground. The tarmac in the area seemed to flow downhill".
In North Hagley Park thousands of people gather for a Memorial Service in a day of remembrance and to stand united in two minutes of silence. Then Hewitt Humphrey reads the names of those who died in the earthquake .
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Colombo - Armagh Street intersection. Copthorne Hotel (left) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (right)".
A digger works on top of a pile of soil and building rubble.
A photograph looking east down London Street from the north-west corner of the London and Canterbury Street intersection. The Volcano Cafe, Lava Bar, and Lyttelton Fisheries have been demolished on the left side of the street, leaving vacant sites.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to a group of shops on the corner of Gloucester Street and Woodham Road. The north side of the building has collapsed, and the top of the facade has crumbled onto the footpath below.
Since the February 22nd earthquake, an influx of displaced Christchurch residents have made North Canterbury their temporary home. Cosmo Kentish-Barnes finds out how some people have coped with this dramatic event and what locals are doing to support them.
A view of Colombo Street, looking north from Kilmore Street. Many of the buildings on the left side have been demolished, and on the right they are badly damaged. Piles of gravel have been heaped on the side of the road.
The north-west corner of the Cranmer Courts on Montreal Street. Wooden bracing has been placed against the brickwork near the window to hold it together. In front, a street light has been knocked on a lean by the earthquake.
A view of Manchester Street looking north towards High Street. A cordon has been constructed at the intersection of Manchester and High Street with a "NO ENTRY" sign, plastic fencing and road cones. In the distance, a crane can be seen.
A photograph looking north out a window of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Building. In the distance there is a pile of rubble from the partially-demolished Pyne Gould Corporation Building on Cambridge Terrace. To the right is the Edmond's Band Rotunda.
A photograph looking north out a window of the PricewaterhouseCoopers Building. In the distance there is a pile of rubble from the partially-demolished Pyne Gould Corporation Building on Cambridge Terrace. To the right is the Edmond's Band Rotunda.
A car drives onto the damaged Dallington bridge. The bridge has visibly moved relative to the road, there is a large gap at the side of the bridge, and the railings are warped. The photographer comments, "Dallington Bridge, north side".
The earthquake which struck at 4.35 a.m. on a Saturday morning was felt by many people in the South Island and southern North Island. There was considerable damage in central Canterbury, especially in Christchurch, but no loss of life.