Ingham and Biggs were in Christchurch during the M6.3, 22 February 2011 earthquake and Moon arrived the next day. They were enlisted by officials to provide rapid assessment of buildings within the Central Business District (CBD). In addition, they were asked to: 1) provide a rapid assessment of the numbers and types of buildings that had been damaged, and 2) identify indicator buildings that represent classes of structures that can be used to monitor changing conditions for each class following continuing aftershocks and subsequent damage. This paper explains how transect methodology was incorporated into the rapid damage assessment that was performed 48 hours after the earthquake. Approximately 300 buildings were assessed using exterior Level 1 reporting techniques. That data was used to draw conclusions on the condition of the entire CBD of approximately 4400 buildings. In the context of a disaster investigation, a transect involves traveling a selected path assessing the condition of the buildings and documenting the class of each building, and using the results in conjunction with prior knowledge relating to the overall population of buildings affected in the area of the study. Read More: http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/9780784412640.033
The 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes have provided a unique opportunity to investigate the seismic performance of both traditional and modern buildings constructed in New Zealand. It is critical that the observed performance is examined and compared against the expected levels of performance that are outlined by the Building Code and Design Standards. In particular, in recent years there has been a significant amount of research into the seismic behaviour of precast concrete floor systems and the robustness of the support connections as a building deforms during an earthquake. An investigation of precast concrete floor systems in Christchurch has been undertaken to assess both the performance of traditional and current design practice. The observed performance for each type of precast floor unit was collated from a number of post-earthquake recognisance activities and compared against the expected performance determined for previous experimental testing and analysis. Possible reasons for both the observed damage, and in some cases the lack of damage, were identified. This critical review of precast concrete floor systems will assist in determining the success of current design practice as well as identify any areas that require further research and/or changes to design standards.
This paper provides an overview of the salient aspects of the dense array of ground motions observed in the 4 September 2010 Darfield and 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Particular attention is given to inferred physical reasons for the observed ground motions, which include: (i) source features such as forward directivity effects; (ii) The effects of the Canterbury Plains sedimentary basin on basin-generated surface waves, and waveguide effects through the region; and (iii) the importance of local site response as evidenced by observations of large long period amplification and liquefaction. The significance of vertical ground motion intensity is also examined.
A video of the rubble from the tower of the ChristChurch Cathedral. The tower was demolished in May 2012 after the 22 February 2011 earthquake made it unsafe.
Chancellor John Wood speaking at the remembrance service held on the C block lawn at the University of Canterbury to mark one year since the February 22 2011 earthquake.
Te Maire Tau speaking at the remembrance service held on the C block lawn at the University of Canterbury to mark one year since the February 22 2011 earthquake.
Two pink and two purple artificial fabric roses with plastic stems and fabric leaves tied together with pink metallic string. The pink flowers have additional plastic leaves with white bead like additions.
A pink and two purple artificial fabric roses with plastic stems and fabric leaves tied together with pink metallic string. The purple flowers has additional plastic leaves with white bead like additions.
A pink and a purple artificial fabric flowers with plastic stems and fabric leaves tied together with pink metallic string. The purple flower has additional plastic leaves with white bead like additions.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The stretch of Colombo Street between St Asaph and Tuam Streets where 13 people died on 22 February 2011".
A torn advertising poster on a wall on High Street. The photographer comments, "Fashion Quarterly Autumn 2011 poster looks very unglamorous and neglected after being off limits for over a year in the Christchurch earthquake red zone".
On Tuesday 22 February 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city. The ‘earthquake’ was in fact an aftershock to an earlier 7.1 magnitude earthquake that had occurred on Saturday 4 September 2010. There were a number of key differences between the two events that meant they had dramatically different results for Christchurch and its inhabitants. The 22 February 2011 event resulted in one of New Zealand’s worst natural disasters on record, with 185 fatalities occurring and hundreds more being injured. In addition, a large number of buildings either collapsed or were damaged to the point where they needed to be totally demolished. Since the initial earthquake in September 2010, a large amount of building-related research has been initiated in New Zealand to investigate the impact of the series of seismic events – the major focus of these research projects has been on seismic, structural and geotechnical engineering matters. One project, however, conducted jointly by the University of Canterbury, the Fire Protection Association of New Zealand and BRANZ, has focused on the performance of fire protection systems in the earthquakes and the effectiveness of the systems in the event of post-earthquake fires occurring. Fortunately, very few fires actually broke out following the series of earthquake events in Christchurch, but fire after earthquakes still has significant implications for the built environment in New Zealand, and the collaborative research has provided some invaluable insight into the potential threat posed by post-earthquake fires in buildings. As well as summarising the damage caused to fire protection systems, this paper discusses the flow-on effect for designing structures to withstand post-earthquake fires. One of the underlying issues that will be explored is the existing regulatory framework in New Zealand whereby structural earthquake design and structural design for fire are treated as discrete design scenarios.
UCSA President Erin Jackson speaking at the remembrance service held on the C block lawn at the University of Canterbury to mark one year since the February 22 2011 earthquake.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Christ's College, Rolleston Avenue. Portacoms and bike stands installed after the earthquakes of 2011 on cleared sections in Gloucester Street near the college".
Christchurch carpenter Chris Nutfield rescued three women from the collapsed PGC building. He's one of the many to receive a bravery and heroism award one year after the February 2011 earthquake.
Shows snarling rats labelled 'insurance companies' in a cityscape. Context: Concerns about shortfall in insurance cover have arisen in response to the Christchurch City Council's draft annual plan, which proposes a 7.5 per cent rates increase to fund earthquake rebuild (Stuff 23 April 2012). Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The scale of damage from a series of earthquakes across Christchurch Otautahi in 2010 and 2011 challenged all networks in the city at a time when many individuals and communities were under severe economic pressure. Historically, Maori have drawn on traditional institutions such as whanau, marae, hapu and iwi in their endurance of past crises. This paper presents research in progress to describe how these Maori-centric networks supported both Maori and non-Maori through massive urban dislocation. Resilience to any disaster can be explained by configurations of economic, social and cultural factors. Knowing what has contributed to Maori resilience is fundamental to the strategic enhancement of future urban communities - Maori and non-Maori.
The three versions of this cartoon show words reading 'rumble' and 'crack' and refer to problems in relationships between the Christchurch City Council and the government about how to manage the rebuilding of Christchurch after the second most damaging earthquake that occured one year ago today (22 February 2011) Quantity: 3 digital cartoon(s).
A video of Press journalist Martin Van Beynen talking about the Canterbury Television Building which collapsed during the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Beynen investigates the construction manager of the building, Gerald Shirtcliff, who allegedly faked an engineering degree and stole the identity of an engineer he knew in South Africa. The video also includes footage of Shirtcliff giving evidence about the CTV Building at the Canterbury Earthquake Royal Commission.
Martin van Beynen is an award-winning journalist with the Christchurch newspaper The Press. His book, 'Trapped: Remarkable Stories of Survival from the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake' documents the experiences of 23 survivors.
Christ Church Cathedral has been granted a stay of execution after a High-Court ruling today to stop the planned demolition of the earthquake-damaged Christchurch central landmark.
Deputy Vice Chancellor Ian Town speaking at the remembrance service held on the C block lawn at the University of Canterbury to mark one year since the February 22 2011 earthquake.
University Chaplain Reverend Tom Innes speaking at the remembrance service held on the C block lawn at the University of Canterbury to mark one year since the February 22 2011 earthquake.
A digitally manipulated image of a broken window. The photographer comments, "There is hardly anything left of Christchurch's proud heritage buildings. Most older buildings were made of brick and though they should have had improvements to make them withstand a medium earthquake most did not. They were badly damaged when hit with a series of earthquakes that were up to 2.2g at the epicentre and 1.88g in the City".
The first police officer at the scene of the collapsed and burning CTV building has recounted harrowing details of his efforts in the hours after the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch.
A photograph of one of the "pods" of temporary classrooms and offices at Kirkwood Village. The pods were constructed at the University of Canterbury campus following the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
The September 2010 Canterbury and February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes and associated aftershocks have shown that the isolator displacement in Christchurch Women's Hospital (Christchurch City's only base-isolated structure) was significantly less than expected. Occupant accounts of the events have also indicated that the accelerations within the hospital superstructure were larger than would usually be expected within a base-isolated structure and that residual low-level shaking lasts for a longer period of time following the strong-motion of an event than for non-isolated structures.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Two of the many the tributes left on Colombo Street between St Asaph and Tuam Streets where 13 people died on 22 February 2011".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "One of the many the tributes left on Colombo Street between St Asaph and Tuam Streets where 13 people died on 22 February 2011".
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "One of the many the tributes left on Colombo Street between St Asaph and Tuam Streets where 13 people died on 22 February 2011".