This paper provides a comparison between the strong ground motions observed in the Christchurch central business district in the 4 September 2010 Mw7.1 Darfield, and 22 February 2011 Mw6.3 Christchurch earthquakes with those observed in Tokyo during the 11 March 2011 Mw9.0 Tohoku earthquake. Despite Tokyo being located approximately 110km from the nearest part of the causative rupture, the ground motions observed from the Tohoku earthquake were strong enough to cause structural damage in Tokyo and also significant liquefaction to loose reclaimed soils in Tokyo bay. Comparisons include the strong motion time histories, response spectra, significant durations and arias intensity. The implications for large earthquakes in New Zealand are also briefly discussed.
The National Recovery Coordinator for Red Cross Emergency Services in Australia, who has researched disaster recovery practices around the world including the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, London bombings and Sichuan earthquake. She is visiting New Zealand ahead of the first anniversary of the February earthquake in Christchurch.
North Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand. Tens of thousands turned out today to mark the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck the city at 12.51pm on 22 February, 2011. 185 people lost their lives. file.stuff.co.nz/stuff/12-51/ Took 4 pa...
A new report says a major earthquake in Wellington would leave a bill of nearly 40 billion dollars, almost twice as much as that of the Canterbury quakes.
Retired Christchurch people affected by the earthquakes are disappointed they have been left out of new rules aimed at giving people in retirement villages better payouts after natural disasters.
A review of the week's main news: sex offender slips through net to teach in a number of New Zealand schools, government says it's not to blame for spreading industrial unrest, Turangi teen sentenced to 10 years jail for raping five year old, Rena captain and navigational officer plead guilty to altering ship's documents, government targets sole parents, unemployed teens, widows and women alone in welfare reforms, Otago Rugby Union fights to stave off liquidation, government promising clampdown on mistreatment and underpayment of foreign crews working on fishing boats chartered to New Zealand companies, structural engineer breaks down at Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission and Bret McKenzie earns an Oscar for a Muppet of a song.
Refers to the rebuilding of Christchurch after the earthquakes. Shown are a cardboard 'weetbix' box, a condom brothel that gives great protection, a pile of rolls of toilet paper, the 'popcorn hotel' expands in microwave, the 'Milo' building, soft but reinforced with iron', and the 'styrofoam chalice'. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Shows a new warning system in Christchurch that consists of the heads of Gerry Brownlee, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister, the Mayor of Christchurch Bob Parker and CERA CEO Roger Sutton. Each bellows his particular mantra. Context: Christchurch's new tsunami warning system will be tested on Sunday 22 July at 11am for one to two minutes. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A digitally manipulated image of Michael Parekowhai's sculpture 'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer' on Madras Street. The photographer comments, "This is the work of New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai titled 'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer'. There are two bronze pianos and a very dominant looking bronze bull on each".
One of five Maori social service providers losing a Family Start contract is choosing not to fight the decision in court - and will instead attempt to win back the business; Maori business leaders who've recently returned from China say the trip has already resulted in new export deals - including a five-tonne shipment of mussels to a Chinese town; A new Maori education group says iwi are sleeping giants that have woken up to help tamariki do better at school; A new study into the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes on Maori mental health patients is promising to offer a unique perspective on how Maori live after devastating events.
Maori business leaders who've recently returned from China say the trip has already resulted in new export deals - including a five-tonne shipment of mussels to a Chinese town; One of five Maori social service providers losing a Family Start contract is choosing not to fight the decision in court - and will instead attempt to win back the business; A new Maori education group says iwi are sleeping giants that have woken up to help tamariki do better at school; A new study into the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes on Maori mental health patients is promising to offer a unique perspective on how Maori live after devastating events.
The structure and geomorphology of active orogens evolves on time scales ranging from a single earthquake to millions of years of tectonic deformation. Analysis of crustal deformation using new and established remote sensing techniques, and integration of these data with field mapping, geochronology and the sedimentary record, create new opportunities to understand orogenic evolution over these timescales. Timor Leste (East Timor) lies on the northern collisional boundary between continental crust from the Australian Plate and the Banda volcanic arc. GPS studies have indicated that the island of Timor is actively shortening. Field mapping and fault kinematic analysis of an emergent Pliocene marine sequence identifies gentle folding, overprinted by a predominance of NW-SE oriented dextral-normal faults and NE-SW oriented sinistral-normal faults that collectively bound large (5-20km2) bedrock massifs throughout the island. These fault systems intersect at non-Andersonian conjugate angles of approximately 120° and accommodate an estimated 20 km of orogen-parallel extension. Folding of Pliocene rocks in Timor may represent an early episode of contraction but the overall pattern of deformation is one of lateral crustal extrusion sub-parallel to the Banda Arc. Stratigraphic relationships suggest that extrusion began prior to 5.5 Ma, during and after initial uplift of the orogen. Sedimentological, geochemical and Nd isotope data indicate that the island of Timor was emergent and shedding terrigenous sediment into carbonate basins prior to 4.5 Ma. Synorogenic tectonic and sedimentary phases initiated almost synchronously across much of Timor Leste and <2 Myr before similar events in West Timor. An increase in plate coupling along this obliquely converging boundary, due to subduction of an outlying continental plateau at the Banda Trench, is proposed as a mechanism for uplift that accounts for orogen-parallel extension and early uplift of Timor Leste. Rapid bathymetric changes around Timor are likely to have played an important role in evolution of the Indonesian Seaway. The 2010 Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake in New Zealand was complex, involving multiple faults with strike-slip, reverse and normal displacements. Multi-temporal cadastral surveying and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) surveys allowed surface deformation at the junction of three faults to be analyzed in this study in unprecedented detail. A nested, localized restraining stepover with contractional bulging was identified in an area with the overall fault structure of a releasing bend, highlighting the surface complexities that may develop in fault interaction zones during a single earthquake sequence. The earthquake also caused river avulsion and flooding in this area. Geomorphic investigations of these rivers prior to the earthquake identify plausible precursory patterns, including channel migration and narrowing. Comparison of the pre and post-earthquake geomorphology of the fault rupture also suggests that a subtle scarp or groove was present along much of the trace prior to the Darfield earthquake. Hydrogeology and well logs support a hypothesis of extended slip history and suggests that that the Selwyn River fan may be infilling a graben that has accumulated late Quaternary vertical slip of <30 m. Investigating fault behavior, geomorphic and sedimentary responses over a multitude of time-scales and at different study sites provides insights into fault interactions and orogenesis during single earthquakes and over millions of years of plate boundary deformation.
Christchurch poet Jeffrey Paparoa Holman whose new collection Shaken Down 6.3 looks at the impacts and aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes. It's published by Canterbury University Press.
A photograph of a colorful crocheted cover for a shipping container. It has various patterns including a black swan, a four leaf clover, the New Zealand flag, some heart patterns, a white house, a pair of pears, a variety of flowers, and the words "Joe & Nat", "Mt Pleasant", and "love from Tauranga".
one of Christchurch's abandoned suburbs. The land moved - bricks and block walls everywhere collapsed - two multi story buildings folded - 184 people died. Wooden framed houses largely stayed up, many concrete slabs cracked, power poles leaned in liquid ground, surface bubbled, services ruptured .... damage to the cbd still gets the most cover...
Shows rain falling over two gondolas of people floating past flooded Christchurch damaged houses. One person points to people in balaclavas climbing over the houses and calls out 'And look...the wildlife's returning!'. Context: Heavy rain and flooding hit Christchurch suburbs, including earthquake damaged homes (Newstalk website 14 August 2012). At the same time, wildlife (possums and rare birds) are moving into abandoned suburbs (Stuff 13 August 2012) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The top of the water slides in the QEII swimming pool, exposed by its demolition. The slides themselves have been broken off, leaving only the entry points. The photographer comments, "After assessment of the damage caused by the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand they decided to demolish the QEII stadium and it's swimming pool".
A digitally manipulated photograph of a building on Poplar Lane. The photographer comments, "I felt that this building had a real Italian feel about it. It is actually in Christchurch, New Zealand. It appears on the list to be partially demolished after the Christchurch earthquake, so it might not be around for much longer".
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 14 September 2012 showing the site of the Harbourlight Theatre on London Street. The retaining wall at the rear of the site collapsed and part of the adjoining land eroded. Also visible in the photograph are the side walls of the Bank of New Zealand and the former Westpac Branch, now Himalaya Desi...
A lecturer at Canterbury University's School of Forestry, Justin Morgenroth on new research into the lifesaving role played by trees in the Christchurch earthquakes - and the importance of urban forests for the future of the city.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister's released what he says is a how-to strategy for the rebuild following the Canterbury earthquakes. Gerry Brownlee says the strategy for improving investment, innovation and job creation will extend beyond economic recovery and into education, culture and social recovery.
Some people in Christchurch who spent last night in freezing earthquake damaged homes with no power, are backing a call from the community group Cancern for emergency shelters to be set up when the next winter storm hits.
The minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, is refusing to intervene and force the Canterbury regional council, to loosen rules around log burners in Christchurch.
The Christchurch city council says today's flooding would have been much worse had it not been for post-earthquake upgrades to the storm water system.
A independent review of Fire Service's response to deadly February earthquake in Christchurch has heavily criticised the organisation for allowing tensions to fester for years.
People in Christchurch fighting to save their Port Hills homes are astounded the Earthquake Recovery Authority is set on spending millions of dollars to buy them out when a cheaper option exists.
The Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes has heard the CTV building collapsed because of the incompetence of the man in charge of designing it.
The lawyer for the man whose company designed the CTV building says it was the strength and number of Canterbury earthquakes that caused its collaspe, and not any design faults.
The Royal Commission into the Canterbury earthquakes has been told illegal building techniques are being used in the Christchurch rebuild because the engineering profession is in crisis.
The Serious Fraud Office has launched it's first investigation into earthquake insurance fraud in Christchurch which could involve tens of millions of dollars.