A story submitted by Archie Thomson to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Eva to the QuakeStories website.
A badly damaged building on Lichfield Street. The door and window frames have sheared to one side, and beyond the glass doors a missing wall can be seen.
Colombo Street south from the Moorhouse Avenue overbridge. Plastic and wire fencing has been used to cordon off damaged buildings and make a path for cars.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
A photograph showing damage to the building at 110 Lichfield Street. Part of the interior of The Mexican Cafe on the upper floor is visible.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
A colour photograph of Warners Hotel following the 22 February 2011 earthquake. While the external damage does not appear extensive, the building has since been demolished.
A damaged brick wall around a courtyard garden on Ash Street, seen from Madras Street. The Alice in Videoland building can be seen in the background.
A view down Manchester Street, looking north. On the left damaged buildings have been cordoned off, and road cones and barriers cordon off the street in the distance.
A photograph of damaged buildings on High Street, seen from the Hotel Grand Chancellor. The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "235-239 High Street".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
Detail of damage to the former Sumner Borough Council building. The brickwork is badly cracked, and part of a wall has collapsed, exposing the interior.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
A photograph of the badly-damaged McKenzie & Willis building on the corner of Tuam Street and High Street. Scaffolding is reinforcing part of the facade.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The former convent on Exeter Street, Lyttelton".
The damaged Haralds building in Papanui has a tarpaulin covering the roof, but still has an Open sign displayed and a sale bin of fabric displayed outside the shop.
Damage to the Aranui Community Hall on Breezes Road. Large sections of the double-brick walls have collapsed, and a cordon fence has been erected around the building.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The towers on the corners have partially collapsed, and shipping containers support one side of the building.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The towers on the corners have partially collapsed, and shipping containers support one side of the building.
Damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The towers on the corners have partially collapsed, and shipping containers support one side of the building.
Transcript of Graham Harris's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Ludovic Romany's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
The Manchester Courts building was a heritage building located in central Christchurch (New Zealand) that was damaged in the Mw 7.1 Darfield earthquake on 4 September 2010 and subsequently demolished as a risk reduction exercise. Because the building was heritage listed, the decision to demolish the building resulted in strong objections from heritage supporters who were of the opinion that the building had sufficient residual strength to survive possible aftershock earthquakes. On 22 February 2011 Christchurch was struck by a severe aftershock, leading to the question of whether building demolition had proven to be the correct risk reduction strategy. Finite element analysis was used to undertake a performance-based assessment, validating the accuracy of the model using the damage observed in the building before its collapse. In addition, soil-structure interaction was introduced into the research due to the comparatively low shear wave velocity of the soil. The demolition of a landmark heritage building was a tragedy that Christchurch will never recover from, but the decision was made considering safety, societal, economic and psychological aspects in order to protect the city and its citizens. The analytical results suggest that the Manchester Courts building would have collapsed during the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and that the collapse of the building would have resulted in significant fatalities.
A photograph of an earthquake-damaged building on the corner of Montreal Street and Moorhouse Avenue. The top of the brick facade has crumbled onto the footpath below. Wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Registry Building on the corner of Montreal and Worcester Streets. Masonry around the gable has collapsed onto the footpath below. Steel bracing has been used to hold up the remaining masonry. Wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Registry Building on the corner of Montreal and Worcester Streets. Masonry around the gable has collapsed onto the footpath below. Steel bracing has been used to hold up the remaining masonry. Wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to Knox Church on the corner of Bealey Avenue and Victoria Street. The brick walls of the gables have collapsed, exposing the building's wooden frame and the inside of the building. Wire fences and emergency tape have been placed around the building as a cordon.