A photograph of crowds in Cathedral Square during Canterbury Tales, which was the main event of FESTA 2013. There is a green spotlight in the background.
Children play on street furniture on Gloucester Street, part of one of the Christchurch City Council's Transitional City projects. In the background is the facade of the Isaac Theatre Royal, protected by shipping containers.
Children play on street furniture on Gloucester Street, part of one of the Christchurch City Council's Transitional City projects. In the background is the facade of the Isaac Theatre Royal, protected by shipping containers.
As a result of the 4 September 2010 Darfield earthquake and the more damaging 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, considerable damage occurred to a significant number of buildings in Christchurch. The damage that occurred to the Christchurch Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (commonly known as the Christchurch Basilica) as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes is reported, and the observed failure modes are identified. A previous strengthening intervention is outlined and the estimated capacity of the building is discussed. This strengthening was completed in 2004, and addressed the worst aspects of the building's seismic vulnerability. Urgent work was undertaken post-earthquake to secure parts of the building in order to limit damage and prevent collapse of unstable parts of the building. The approach taken for this securing is outlined, and the performance of the building and the previously installed earthquake strengthening intervention is evaluated.A key consideration throughout the project was the interaction between the structural securing requirements that were driven by the requirement to limit damage and mitigate hazards, and the heritage considerations. Lessons learnt from the strengthening that was carried out, the securing work undertaken, and the approach taken in making the building "safe" are discussed. Some conclusions are drawn with respect to the effectiveness of strengthening similar building types, and the approach taken to secure the building under active seismic conditions. AM - Accepted Manuscript
The objective of this study is to examine the influence of near-fault motions on liquefaction triggering in Christchurch and neighboring towns during the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence (CES). The CES began with the 4 September 2010, Mw7.1 Darfield earthquake and included up to ten events that triggered liquefaction. However, most notably, widespread liquefaction was induced by the Darfield earthquake and the Mw6.2, 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Of particular relevance to this study is the forward directivity effects that were prevalent in the motions recorded during the Darfield earthquake, and to a much lesser extent, during the Christchurch earthquake. A 2D variant of the Richart-Newmark fatigue theory was used to compute the equivalent number of cycles (neq) for the ground motions, where volumetric strain was used as the damage metric. This study is unique because it considers the contribution and phasing of both the fault-normal and fault-parallel components of motion on neq and the magnitude scaling factor (MSF). It was found that when the fault-normal and fault-parallel motions were treated individually, the former yielded a lower neq than the latter. Additionally, when the combined effects of fault-normal and fault-parallel components were considered, it was found that the MSF were higher than those commonly used. This implies that motions containing near-fault effects are less demanding on the soil than motions that do not. This may be one of several factors that resulted in less severe liquefaction occurring during the Darfield earthquake than the Christchurch earthquake.
Earthquakes are one of the few natural disasters Australia seldom experiences. We find out from curator Felicity Milburn how our neighbours have responded to an exhibition of earthquake related art direct from Christchurch.
A photograph of people at ArtBox gallery for Something Super, during FESTA 2013. The event included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
An aerial photograph looking north over the Christchurch CBD from Lichfield Street along Colombo Street. The brightly coloured roofs of the Re:Start mall can be seen in the bottom centre of the photograph.
A video of a memorial service in Latimer Square held on the second anniversary of the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The video includes speeches from Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker and Prime Minister John Key.
Topics - Twelve charges laid against the former Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall in relation to the 2010 disaster at the mine have been dropped. In a shock development in the Christchurch District Court today, the Crown said that after an extensive review it was "not appropriate to continue with the prosecution against Mr Whittall''. More than half of the 2.15 million KiwiSaver members are either not contributing to the retirement scheme or not saving enough to collect the $521 annual tax credit from the Government, according to the Inland Revenue Department. The number of people with dire needs on Housing New Zealand's waiting list has tripled since the Christchurch earthquakes.
A photograph of a group of young people speaking at a Canterbury Tales event at Re:START mall. Canterbury Tales was a carnivalesque procession and the main event of FESTA 2013.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says he is confident that Fletchers is vigilant about fraud and is doing what it can to prevent it in the Christchurch rebuild after accusations from New Zealand First.
It now seems unlikely that engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake will face any external action, with the profession's administrators telling the Government there's nothing more they can do.
Nearly two years' after Christchurch's February earthquake and almost 6 months after the blueprint for the city centre was revealed, many questions remain about how much it will cost and who will pay for it.
It's emerged that engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake are unlikely to face any external action, with the profession's two top bodies telling the Government their hands are tied.
A video of busker John Higby performing his Yo Yo Guy routine in Cathedral Square. The performance was part of a special World Buskers Festival show for workers in the Christchurch central city Red Zone.
A public talk by Carolyn Gullery, General Manager Planning and Funding at the Christchurch District Health Board. This talk, entitled 'Health foundations for the future', formed part of the Plenary Four session, 'Laying the foundations'.
A photograph of a painting in Donna Allfrey's house at 406 Oxford Terrace. The painting depicts heritage buildings which were demolished in Christchurch, as well as the year or era in which they were built.
Experts trying to restore Christchurch's busted sewerage system have faced up to concerned residents about what happened when raw sewage was allowed to flow directly into the sea in the months after the February earthquake.
A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School plays on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the foreground people wait for the event to start.
A photograph of people in Cathedral Square on the night of Canterbury Tales, during FESTA 2013. A smoke machine and theatre lights are being used to set the scene.
A photograph of people in Cathedral Square on the night of Canterbury Tales, during FESTA 2013. A smoke machine and theatre lights are being used to set the scene.
A photograph of an advertising image in the window of Sugar Hair and Beauty, on the ground floor of the Inland Revenue Building.
A string quartet from Christchurch Girls High School plays on the riverbank before the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. In the foreground people wait for the event to start.
A photograph of the large-scale puppet titled The Knight. The puppet is being assembled in the Re:START mall car park between Cashel Street and Lichfield Street.
A photograph of a protest sign reading, "Pillage People" and showing the faces of key figures in the Christchurch rebuild superimposed on the bodies of the Village People. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Woodham Road, Linwood".
A photograph of a large-scale puppet titled The Wife of Bath. The puppet is in the Re:START mall car park between Cashel Street and Lichfield Street.
A video about the Police Special Tactics Group using an abandoned house in the Christchurch residential red zone to train. The video includes an interview with Inspector Steve Mather, Special Tactics Group Commander, about the training exercise.
A photograph of a musician performing at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A photograph of Doug Sexton holding a memento created by artist Sarah Brown for the Shared Lines Sendai/Christchurch Art Exchange. Brown used found objects from Doug Sexton's house to create this artwork in a tobacco tin.