Heathcote Valley school strong motion station (HVSC) consistently recorded ground motions with higher intensities than nearby stations during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes. For example, as shown in Figure 1, for the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, peak ground acceleration at HVSC reached 1.4 g (horizontal) and 2 g (vertical), the largest ever recorded in New Zealand. Strong amplification of ground motions is expected at Heathcote Valley due to: 1) the high impedance contrast at the soil-rock interface, and 2) the interference of incident and surface waves within the valley. However, both conventional empirical ground motion prediction equations (GMPE) and the physics-based large scale ground motions simulations (with empirical site response) are ineffective in predicting such amplification due to their respective inherent limitations.
A photograph of a pile of broken glass in the entrance way to an office in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury, after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of a section of road on the Greendale Fault line with large cracks caused by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of a section of road on the Greendale Fault line with large cracks caused by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of the Greendale Fault line, now visible across a paddock due to cracks caused by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of the Greendale Fault line, now visible across a paddock due to cracks caused by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of a crack in a wall of Room 212 in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury when staff were let in after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A pdf copy of a PowerPoint presentation made for the Water Services Association of Australia conference, about SCIRT's approach to asset investigation after the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011.
The sequence of earthquakes that has affected Christchurch and Canterbury since September 2010 has caused damage to a great number of buildings of all construction types. Following post-event damage surveys performed between April 2011 and June 2011, an inventory of the stone masonry buildings in Christchurch and surrounding areas was carried out in order to assemble a database containing the characteristic features of the building stock, as a basis for studying the vulnerability factors that might have influenced the seismic performance of the stone masonry building stock during the Canterbury earthquake sequence. The damage suffered by unreinforced stone masonry buildings is reported and different types of observed failures are described using a specific survey procedure currently in use in Italy. The observed performance of seismic retrofit interventions applied to stone masonry buildings is also described, as an understanding of the seismic response of these interventions is of fundamental importance for assessing the utility of such strengthening techniques when applied to unreinforced stone masonry structures. AM - Accepted Manuscript
Cleaning up the silt and sand from Hoon Hay properties. Here Laura, Robbie, and Ronny are part of the clean-up crew on Wyn Street.
PDF slides from a presentation given by Dr. Thomas Wilson from the UC Geology department on 29 November 2010. The presentation was delivered at two public lectures, one at Lincoln University and another in Darfield.
A photograph of a section of road lying on the Greendale Fault line which has large cracks caused by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of the Pills for Thrills building on Worcester Street which suffered damage from a fire caused by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
The crowd at the Band Together concert, a concert that was put on at Hagley Park for the people of Canterbury following the September earthquake.
The crowd at the Band Together concert, a concert that was put on at Hagley Park for the people of Canterbury following the September earthquake.
The crowd at the Band Together concert, a concert that was put on at Hagley Park for the people of Canterbury following the September earthquake.
The crowd at the Band Together concert, a concert that was put on at Hagley Park for the people of Canterbury following the September earthquake.
A photograph of an earthquake-damaged bridge over the Kaiapoi River.
A photograph of an earthquake-damaged bridge over the Kaiapoi River.
A photograph of an earthquake-damaged bridge over the Kaiapoi River.
In the early morning of 4th September 2010 the region of Canterbury, New Zealand, was subjected to a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. The epicentre was located near the town of Darfield, 40 km west of the city of Christchurch. This was the country’s most damaging earthquake since the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake (GeoNet, 2010). Since 4th September 2010 the region has been subjected to thousands of aftershocks, including several more damaging events such as a magnitude 6.3 aftershock on 22nd February 2011. Although of a smaller magnitude, the earthquake on 22nd February produced peak ground accelerations in the Christchurch region three times greater than the 4th September earthquake and in some cases shaking intensities greater than twice the design level (GeoNet, 2011; IPENZ, 2011). While in September 2010 most earthquake shaking damage was limited to unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings, in February all types of buildings sustained damage. Temporary shoring and strengthening techniques applied to buildings following the Darfield earthquake were tested in February 2011. In addition, two large aftershocks occurred on 13th June 2011 (magnitudes 5.7 and 6.2), further damaging many already weakened structures. The damage to unreinforced and retrofitted clay brick masonry buildings in the 4th September 2010 Darfield earthquake has already been reported by Ingham and Griffith (2011) and Dizhur et al. (2010b). A brief review of damage from the 22nd February 2011 earthquake is presented here
A video of a presentation by Professor David Johnston during the fourth plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. Johnston is a Senior Scientist at GNS Science and Director of the Joint Centre for Disaster Research in the School of Psychology at Massey University. The presentation is titled, "Understanding Immediate Human Behaviour to the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, Implications for injury prevention and risk communication".The abstract for the presentation reads as follows: The 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquake sequences have given us a unique opportunity to better understand human behaviour during and immediately after an earthquake. On 4 September 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred near Darfield in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. There were no deaths, but several thousand people sustained injuries and sought medical assistance. Less than 6 months later, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred under Christchurch City at 12:51 p.m. on 22 February 2011. A total of 182 people were killed in the first 24 hours and over 7,000 people injured overall. To reduce earthquake casualties in future events, it is important to understand how people behaved during and immediately after the shaking, and how their behaviour exposed them to risk of death or injury. Most previous studies have relied on an analysis of medical records and/or reflective interviews and questionnaire studies. In Canterbury we were able to combine a range of methods to explore earthquake shaking behaviours and the causes of injuries. In New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation (a national health payment scheme run by the government) allowed researchers to access injury data from over 9,500 people from the Darfield (4 September 2010) and Christchurch (22 February 2011 ) earthquakes. The total injury burden was analysed for demography, context of injury, causes of injury, and injury type. From the injury data inferences into human behaviour were derived. We were able to classify the injury context as direct (immediate shaking of the primary earthquake or aftershocks causing unavoidable injuries), and secondary (cause of injury after shaking ceased). A second study examined people's immediate responses to earthquakes in Christchurch New Zealand and compared responses to the 2011 earthquake in Hitachi, Japan. A further study has developed a systematic process and coding scheme to analyse earthquake video footage of human behaviour during strong earthquake shaking. From these studies a number of recommendations for injury prevention and risk communication can be made. In general, improved building codes, strengthening buildings, and securing fittings will reduce future earthquake deaths and injuries. However, the high rate of injuries incurred from undertaking an inappropriate action (e.g. moving around) during or immediately after an earthquake suggests that further education is needed to promote appropriate actions during and after earthquakes. In New Zealand - as in US and worldwide - public education efforts such as the 'Shakeout' exercise are trying to address the behavioural aspects of injury prevention.
A photograph of cracks around a window of the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. The cracks formed as a result of the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of cracks around a window of the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. The cracks formed as a result of the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of cracks in the masonry of the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. The cracks formed as a result of the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of cracks around a window of the Observatory tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. The cracks formed as a result of the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of the helicopter used by a team from Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) to take aerial photographs of Canterbury following the 4 September earthquake.
A photograph of a trolley stacked with computers and keyboards in the Civil Suite at the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The photograph was taken on the day when the staff were allowed to return to the building.
A photograph of Room 212 in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The photograph was taken on the day when the staff were allowed to return to the building.
A photograph of Room 212 in the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury after the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The photograph was taken on the day when the staff were allowed to return to the building.