A yellow sticker on the door of a house in Worcester Street reading, "Restricted use. No entry except on essential business. Warning: This building has been damaged and its structural safety is questionable. Earthquake aftershocks present danger. Enter only at own risk. Subsequent events may result in increased damage and danger, changing this assessment. Reinspection may be required. The damage is as described below: partial collapse of longitudinal walls". Following on from this are the specific conditions that must be complied with to enable entry into the property, the inspector's identification details, and the date and time the building was inspected. At the bottom the form reads, "Do not remove this placard. Placed by order of the territorial authority Christchurch City Council".
Damaged buildings on Manchester Street, the facades of which have fallen into the street. The photographer comments, "A bike ride around the CBD".
A photograph of a badly-damaged building on Colombo Street. The top section of the brick wall has crumbled, exposing the room inside.
Damage to the facade of the Cashfields Arcade building, seen above the cordon fencing at the east end of the Re:Start mall.
A photograph of a worker inside a damaged building on Victoria Street. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Behind the Knox Church".
A photograph of a worker inside a damaged building on Victoria Street. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Behind the Knox Church".
A photograph submitted by Sarndra to the QuakeStories website. The description reads, "Through the car window – damaged Lyttelton road tunnel control building. April 2011.".
A story submitted by Anonymous to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Aleshia Gundry to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Kalena to the QuakeStories website.
Cranes above the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street.
A badly damaged building on Lichfield Street. The brick side wall has completely collapsed, and the front of the lower storey is on a significant lean.
A photograph of carpets stripped out of a damaged building on Victoria Street. The photograph is captioned by Paul Corliss, "Behind the Knox Church".
Cranes above the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street.
Transcript of Rupa Manjari's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Daniel Johnson's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Martin's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Leith Graydon's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
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The Christchurch region of New Zealand experienced a series of major earthquakes and aftershocks between September 2010 and June 2011 which caused severe damage to the city’s infrastructure. The performance of tilt-up precast concrete buildings was investigated and initial observations are presented here. In general, tilt-up buildings performed well during all three major earthquakes, with mostly only minor, repairable damage occurring. For the in-plane loading direction, both loadbearing and cladding panels behaved exceptionally well, with no significant damage or failure observed in panels and their connections. A limited number of connection failures occurred due to large out-of-plane panel inertia forces. In several buildings, the connections between the panel and the internal structural frame appeared to be the weakest link, lacking in both strength and ductility. This weakness in the out-of-plane load path should be prevented in future designs.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Bob Brown's Hi-Fi Sounds building on the corner of Gloucester and Armagh Streets. Many of the windows have broken and wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Bob Brown's Hi-Fi Sounds building on the corner of Gloucester and Armagh Streets. Many of the windows have broken and wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of a badly-damaged building on the corner of Manchester Street and Gloucester Street. The wall of the top storey has crumbled, and the bricks have fallen onto the footpath below. Wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of a badly-damaged building on the corner of Manchester Street and Gloucester Street. The wall of the top storey has crumbled, and the bricks have fallen onto the footpath below. Wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of a digger and workers in high-visibility gear outside a badly-damaged building on the corner of Gloucester Street and Manchester Street. The road is covered in building rubble and has been cordoned off with wire fencing.
A photograph of a digger and workers in high-visibility gear outside a badly-damaged building on the corner of Gloucester Street and Manchester Street. The road is covered in building rubble and has been cordoned off with wire fencing.
Colombo Street looking south from Kilmore Street. Wire and concrete fencing has been used as a cordon. In the distance a drill and a crane can be seen, as well as the damaged tower of the Cathedral, the Forsyth Building and the BNZ Building.