A pdf transcript of Participant number QB005's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Lucy Denham. Transcriber: Lucy Denham.
A pdf transcript of Fiona Robertson's second earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox Take 2 project. Interviewer: Samuel Hope. Transcriber: Natalie Looyer.
Transcript of Fiona Robertson's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Severe damage to the corner of Cranmer Courts. The tower in the corner has crumbled, the bricks and roof falling into the street.
Severe damage to the corner of Cranmer Courts. The tower in the corner has crumbled, the bricks and roof falling into the street.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to Plume on High Street. The awning has completely collapsed, along with the walls near the corner of the building.
A photograph of a badly-damaged building on Colombo Street. The front of the top storey has crumbled, and rubble has fallen onto the footpath below.
A photograph of the back of badly-damaged McKenzie & Willis building on the corner of Tuam Street and High Street. Scaffolding is reinforcing part of the facade.
A story submitted by Rosie Belton to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Lindsay McKenzie to the QuakeStories website.
The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The tower on the south-west corner of the building has collapsed, and a vehicle has been crushed by the falling stones.
A photograph of an earthquake damaged building in the Christchurch central city. Some of the windows have broken and have been covered with plastic and tape.
Damage to the Visitors Centre in Kaiapoi, after the September 4th earthquake. The foundations have lifted at the back of the building, giving it a forward lean.
The damaged Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The tower on the north-west corner of the building has partially collapsed, and stones have fallen onto the ground in front.
A photograph of a damaged building on Lichfield Street, near the corner of Madras Street. Only half of the roof remains and the windows have been boarded up.
A photograph of badly-damaged buildings on Lichfield Street. Many of the brick walls have collapsed, and the bricks have fallen onto the footpath and road.
Damage to the backs of buildings on High Street, seen from St Asaph Street. The photographer comments, "A bike ride around the CBD. St Asaph St".
Collapsed scaffolding beside the badly damaged Stone Chamber of the Provincial Council Buildings. The photographer comments, "A bike ride around the CBD. Provincial Chambers, Durham St".
Transcript of Jenny Garing's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
A pdf transcript of Sara Green's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
An entry from Deb Robertson's blog for 7 June 2011 entitled, "Finally this top is done....".
An entry from Deb Robertson's blog for 10 February 2012 entitled, "Thinking about February 22....".
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The 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes, which involved widespread damage during the February 2011 event and ongoing aftershocks near the Christchurch Central Business District, left this community with more than $NZD 40 billion in losses (~20 % GDP), demolition of approximately 60 % of multi-storey concrete buildings (3 storeys and up), and closure of the core business district for over 2 years. The aftermath of the earthquake sequence has revealed unique issues and complexities for the owners of commercial and multi-storey residential buildings in relation to unexpected technical, legal, and financial challenges when making decisions regarding the future of their buildings impacted by the earthquakes. The paper presents a framework to understand the factors influencing post-earthquake decisions (repair or demolish) on multi-storey concrete buildings in Christchurch. The study, conducted in 2014, includes in-depth investigations on 15 case-study buildings using 27 semi-structured interviews with various property owners, property managers, insurers, engineers, and government authorities in New Zealand. The interviews revealed insights regarding the multitude of factors influencing post-earthquake decisions and losses. As expected, the level of damage and repairability (cost to repair) generally dictated the course of action. There is strong evidence, however, that other variables have significantly influenced the decision on a number of buildings, such as insurance, business strategies, perception of risks, building regulations (and compliance costs), and government decisions. The decision-making process for each building is complex and unique, not solely driven by structural damage. Furthermore, the findings have put the spotlight on insurance policy wordings and the paradoxical effect of insurance on the recovery of Christchurch, leading to other challenges and issues going forward.
Damage to the British Hotel on Oxford Street. The top of the building has crumbled bringing the roof down with it. Bricks lay along the footpath where they landed. Wire fencing has used to create a cordon around the building.
A photograph of Pretty Things on Colombo Street, with damage to the front wall, and road cones, tape and fencing around the building. A red sticker can be seen on the front door, indicating that the building is unsafe to enter.
A photograph of emergency management personnel standing in a car park behind the Forsyth Barr building. In the background rubble from an earthquake-damaged building has been stacked in a pile. The rubble is mostly made up of concrete staircases.
A photograph of emergency management personnel standing in a car park behind the Forsyth Barr building. In the background rubble from an earthquake-damaged building has been stacked in a pile. The rubble is mostly made up of concrete staircases.
The sequence of earthquakes that has greatly affected Christchurch and Canterbury since September 2010 has again demonstrated the need for seismic retrofit of heritage unreinforced masonry buildings. Commencing in April 2011, the damage to unreinforced stone masonry buildings in Christchurch was assessed and recorded with the primary objective being to document the seismic performance of these structures, recognising that they constitute an important component of New Zealand’s heritage architecture. A damage statistics database was compiled by combining the results of safety evaluation placarding and post-earthquake inspections, and it was determined that the damage observed was consistent with observations previously made on the seismic performance of stone masonry structures in large earthquakes. Details are also given on typical building characteristics and on failure modes observed. Suggestions on appropriate seismic retrofit and remediation techniques are presented, in relation also to strengthening interventions that are typical for similar unreinforced stone masonry structures in Europe.
Damage to St John the Baptist Church in Latimer Square. The tower has collapsed, exposing its structure. The building's roof has been weather proofed with plywood.