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Research Papers, Lincoln University

The study contributes to a better understanding of utilisation and interaction patterns in post-disaster temporary urban open spaces. A series of devastating earthquakes caused large scale damage to Christchurch’s central city and many suburbs in 2010 and 2011. Various temporary uses have emerged on vacant post-earthquake sites including community gardens, urban agriculture, art installations, event venues, eateries and cafés, and pocket parks. Drawing on empirical data obtained from a spatial qualities survey and a Public Life Study, the report analyses how people used and interacted with three exemplary transitional community-initiated open spaces (CIOS) in relation to particular physical spatial qualities in central Christchurch over a period of three weeks. The report provides evidence that users of post-disaster transitional community-initiated open spaces show similar utilisation and interaction patterns in relation to specific spatial qualities as observed in other urban environments. The temporary status of CIOS did apparently not influence ‘typical’ utilisation and interaction patterns.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Geospatial liquefaction models aim to predict liquefaction using data that is free and readily-available. This data includes (i) common ground-motion intensity measures; and (ii) geospatial parameters (e.g., among many, distance to rivers, distance to coast, and Vs30 estimated from topography) which are used to infer characteristics of the subsurface without in-situ testing. Since their recent inception, such models have been used to predict geohazard impacts throughout New Zealand (e.g., in conjunction with regional ground-motion simulations). While past studies have demonstrated that geospatial liquefaction-models show great promise, the resolution and accuracy of the geospatial data underlying these models is notably poor. As an example, mapped rivers and coastlines often plot hundreds of meters from their actual locations. This stems from the fact that geospatial models aim to rapidly predict liquefaction anywhere in the world and thus utilize the lowest common denominator of available geospatial data, even though higher quality data is often available (e.g., in New Zealand). Accordingly, this study investigates whether the performance of geospatial models can be improved using higher-quality input data. This analysis is performed using (i) 15,101 liquefaction case studies compiled from the 2010-2016 Canterbury Earthquakes; and (ii) geospatial data readily available in New Zealand. In particular, we utilize alternative, higher-quality data to estimate: locations of rivers and streams; location of coastline; depth to ground water; Vs30; and PGV. Most notably, a region-specific Vs30 model improves performance (Figs. 3-4), while other data variants generally have little-to-no effect, even when the “standard” and “high-quality” values differ significantly (Fig. 2). This finding is consistent with the greater sensitivity of geospatial models to Vs30, relative to any other input (Fig. 5), and has implications for modeling in locales worldwide where high quality geospatial data is available.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Questions to Ministers 1. AMY ADAMS to the Minister of Finance: What will be the focus of the Budget on 19 May? 2. Hon PHIL GOFF to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements on the sale of State-owned assets? 3. SHANE ARDERN to the Minister of Customs: What recent reports has he received regarding interceptions of methamphetamine by Customs officers at the border? 4. Hon ANNETTE KING to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that "we've done as good a job as we can in the conditions we've got to try and help low-income New Zealanders"? 5. KEITH LOCKE to the Minister of Defence: Has New Zealand's SAS detained anyone during its operations or joint operations with other forces, since being redeployed to Afghanistan in 2009? 6. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that "I have seen almost no criticism of the Government's plan to rebalance the economy" given the statement from the Chair of the 2025 Taskforce, Don Brash, that "There is certainly no evidence yet that current policies will deliver the kind of accelerated growth we need"? 7. NICKY WAGNER to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: What process will the Government use to rebuild and restore damaged infrastructure in Canterbury? 8. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery: Is he satisfied that the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 provides him with all the powers necessary to facilitate the recovery of Canterbury? 9. Hon JOHN BOSCAWEN to the Minister of Finance: By how much has Government expenditure increased as a percentage of GDP since he became Minister of Finance? 10. DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Minister of Foreign Affairs? 11. KATRINA SHANKS to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Why has the Government announced a Green Paper on how we value, nurture and protect children? 12. Hon TREVOR MALLARD to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?

Audio, Radio New Zealand

ANDREW LITTLE to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement, "There's actually quite legitimate business in New Zealand for servicing foreign trusts"? JAMES SHAW to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements? ALASTAIR SCOTT to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he received on the state of the Crown accounts ahead of Budget 2016? RON MARK to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements? ALFRED NGARO to the Minister for Social Housing: What support will Budget 2016 provide for people in need of emergency housing? Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister of Health: What is the total amount of efficiencies since 2011/12 made by the 20 district health boards and how much have they made for the February year to date? JULIE ANNE GENTER to the Minister of Revenue: Does he stand by his statement, "these are the facts: there is no tax avoidance or evasion in New Zealand in respect of foreign trusts … There is no wealth hidden in New Zealand with these foreign trusts"? MAUREEN PUGH to the Minister for Communications: What recent announcements has she made on progress of the Government's Ultra-Fast Broadband programme? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement made in Budget 2015 that "the unemployment rate is expected to fall below 5% in 2016"? BARBARA KURIGER to the Minister of Education: What recent announcements has she made on Communities of Learning? Dr MEGAN WOODS to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: Has EQC's position that it will reinstate earthquake damage to a condition substantially the same as "when new" been applied to every home repaired in the Canterbury Home Repair Programme; if so, why does the EQC customer guide state that customers' homes will be returned to a "pre-earthquake state"? MAHESH BINDRA to the Minister of Corrections: Does she have confidence in the Department of Corrections' ability to keep both staff and prisoners safe?

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a presentation by Associate Professor John Vargo during the fifth plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. Vargo is a senior researcher and co-leader of the Resilient Organisations Research Programme at the University of Canterbury. The presentation is titled, "Organisational Resilience is more than just Business Continuity".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: Business Continuity Management is well-established process in many larger organisations and a key element in their emergency planning. Research carried out by resilient organisations follow the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes show that most small organisations did not have a business continuity plan (BCP), yet many of these organisations did survive the massive disruptions following the earthquakes. They were resilient to these catastrophic events, but in the absence of a BCP. This research also found that many of the organisations with BCP's, struggled to use them effectively when facing real events that did not align with the BCP. Although the BCPs did a good job of preparing organisations to deal with technology and operational disruptions, there was virtually no coverage for the continuity of people. Issues surrounding staff welfare and engagement were amongst the most crucial issues faced by Canterbury organisations, yet impacts of societal and personal disruption did not feature in BCPs. Resilience is a systematic way of looking at how an organization can survive a crisis and thrive in an uncertain world. Business continuity is an important aspect for surviving the crisis, but it is only part of the bigger picture addressed by organisational resilience. This presentation will show how organizational experiences in the Canterbury earthquakes support the need to move to a 'Business Continuity' for the '21st Century', one that incorporates more aspects of resilience, especially the 'people' areas of leadership, culture, staff welfare, and engagement.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE to the Prime Minister: Is he still committed to "ensuring our schools are working for all students", and is he satisfied his Government has done enough to ensure that every child has equal access to a low-cost public education? CLAUDETTE HAUITI to the Minister of Finance: What steps has the Government taken to turn around the Treasury's forecast net Government debt? METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements? Hon DAVID PARKER to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with Infometrics that after the Canterbury rebuild peaks, the New Zealand economy will experience a "hangover" with slow income and GDP growth? SCOTT SIMPSON to the Minister of Justice: What justice initiatives has she announced to address family violence in New Zealand? DAVID SHEARER to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade: When did he first become aware of allegations that led to a Malaysian diplomat being charged with assault with the intent to commit rape and burglary, and what actions did he take? MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Corrections: What recent announcements has she made on how technology can be used to better protect victims of domestic violence? JAN LOGIE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Was he made aware of the wishes, if any, of the woman at the centre of the assault with intent to rape charges laid against a Malaysian diplomat, regarding his return to Malaysia; if so, when? JONATHAN YOUNG to the Minister of Health: What investments has the Government made in health services for Taranaki? CHRIS HIPKINS to the Minister of Education: Is she satisfied that schools receive sufficient funding to deliver the New Zealand curriculum? KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI to the Minister for Food Safety: What recent announcements has she made regarding food labelling? DENIS O'ROURKE to the Minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission: Is he satisfied with the progress of the Earthquake Commission in the settlement or disposition of all claims in respect of multi-unit dwellings, arising from the Canterbury earthquake; if so, why?

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

New Zealand’s stock of unreinforced masonry (URM) bearing wall buildings was principally constructed between 1880 and 1935, using fired clay bricks and lime or cement mortar. These buildings are particularly vulnerable to horizontal loadings such as those induced by seismic accelerations, due to a lack of tensile force-resisting elements in their construction. The poor seismic performance of URM buildings was recently demonstrated in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, where a large number of URM buildings suffered irreparable damage and resulted in a significant number of fatalities and casualties. One of the predominant failure modes that occurs in URM buildings is diagonal shear cracking of masonry piers. This diagonal cracking is caused by earthquake loading orientated parallel to the wall surface and typically generates an “X” shaped crack pattern due to the reversed cyclic nature of earthquake accelerations. Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) is a class of fiber reinforced cement composite that exhibits a strain-hardening characteristic when loaded in tension. The tensile characteristics of ECC make it an ideal material for seismic strengthening of clay brick unreinforced masonry walls. Testing was conducted on 25 clay brick URM wallettes to investigate the increase in shear strength for a range of ECC thicknesses applied to the masonry wallettes as externally bonded shotcrete reinforcement. The results indicated that there is a diminishing return between thickness of the applied ECC overlay and the shear strength increase obtained. It was also shown that, the effectiveness of the externally bonded reinforcement remained constant for one and two leaf wallettes, but decreased rapidly for wall thicknesses greater than two leafs. The average pseudo-ductility of the strengthened wallettes was equal to 220% of that of the as-built wallettes, demonstrating that ECC shotcrete is effective at enhancing both the in-plane strength and the pseudo-ductility of URM wallettes. AM - Accepted Manuscript

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Interagency Emergency Response Teams (IERTs) play acrucial role in times of disasters. Therefore it is crucial to understand more thoroughly the communication roles and responsibilities of interagency team members and to examine how individual members communicate within a complex, evolving, and unstable environment. It is also important to understand how different organisational identities and their spatial geographies contribute to the interactional dynamics. Earthquakes hit the Canterbury region on September, 2010 and then on February 2011 a more devastating shallow earthquake struck resulting in severe damage to the Aged Residential Care (ARC) sector. Over 600 ARC beds were lost and 500 elderly and disabled people were displaced. Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) set up an interagency emergency response team to address the issues of vulnerable people with significant health and disability needs who were unable to access their normal supports due to the effects of the earthquake. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive study is to focus on the case study of the response and evacuation of vulnerable people by interagencies responding to the event. Staff within these agencies were interviewed with a focus on the critical incidents that either stabilised or negatively influenced the outcome of the response. The findings included the complexity of navigating multiple agencies communication channels; understanding the different hierarchies and communication methods within each agency; data communication challenges when infrastructures were severely damaged; the importance of having the right skills, personal attributes and understanding of the organisations in the response; and the significance of having a liaison in situ representing and communicating through to agencies geographically dispersed from Canterbury. It is hoped that this research will assist in determining a future framework for interagency communication best practice and policy.

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

When the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, at 12.51pm on 22nd February 2011, the psychological and physical landscape was irrevocably changed. In the days and weeks following the disaster communities were isolated due to failed infrastructure, continuing aftershocks and the extensive search and rescue effort which focussed resources on the central business district. In such moments the resilience of a community is truly tested. This research discusses the role of grassroots community groups in facilitating community resilience during the Christchurch 2010/11 earthquakes and the role of place in doing so. I argue that place specific strategies for urban resilience need to be enacted from a grassroots level while being supported by broader policies and agencies.  Using a case study of Project Lyttelton – a group aspiring towards a resilient sustainable future who were caught at the epicentre of the February earthquake – I demonstrate the role of a community group in creating resilience through self-organised place specific action during a disaster. The group provided emotional care, basic facilities and rebuilding assistance to the residents of Lyttelton, proving to be an invaluable asset. These actions are closely linked to the characteristics of social support and social learning that have been identified as important to socio-ecological resilience. In addition this research will seek to understand and explore the nuances of place and identity and its role in shaping resilience to such dis-placing events. Drawing on community narratives of the displacement of place identity, the potential for a progressive sense of place as instigated by local groups will be investigated as an avenue for adaptation by communities at risk of disaster and place destabilisation.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

Oarai is a coastal town in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The disaster severely damaged local industries, and the local tourism sector faced a sharp decline followed the event. To overcome the conundrum, the local tourism businesses have taken the opportunity to collaborate with an anime called Girls und Panzer, which has been developed by an external animation production studio. This collaboration has resulted in huge success, and the drop in the local tourism industry had been largely reversed, but has resulted in a significant change to the tourism system. This thesis explores the activities and outcomes of this tourism industry reimagining. A mixed-method approach was used to investigate the perception of local tourism businesses to the current Oarai tourism system, and examine the transformative effect of the disaster and its aftermath. Perceptions of disaster impact and anime tourism development were analysed through surveys (n=73) and interviews (n=2) which focused on tourism business operators, while participant observation was conducted to create the image of anime tourism operation in Oarai. Results show that the development of anime tourism in Oarai successfully helped the local tourism businesses to recover from the disaster. As new agencies and organisations joined the anime tourism network, anime tourism increased communication between stakeholders, and improved the resilience of the community. The new tourism development has transformed the local tourism industry, to some extent, however. the future trajectory of anime tourism in Oarai is difficult to forecast, and there is scope for longitudinal research of this tourism system.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A damaged brick building on Tuam Street. Bricks have fallen from the wall exposing the interior, where a wooden structure can be seen to have collapsed. The photographer comments, "This is the damage caused by the numerous earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. It closely resembles a face and the round blob in the square hole at the top of the nose is a pigeon".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by the New Zealand Defence Force, "The NZ Defence Force helps out after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Army and Air Force Medics as well as Hercules crew and Air Security transfer elderly patients from NZDF ambulances to the Air Force's C-130 Hercules for transport to other parts of NZ. LAC Brendon Stads (left) and SGT Simon Blakeway transfer an elderly patient".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by the New Zealand Defence Force, "The NZ Defence Force helps out after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Army and Air Force Medics as well as Hercules crew and Air Security transfer elderly patients from NZDF ambulances to the Air Force's C-130 Hercules for transport to other parts of NZ. LAC Janine Potter (left) and SGT Sarah Miller comfort an elderly patient".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by the New Zealand Defence Force, "The NZ Defence Force helps out after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Army and Air Force Medics as well as Hercules crew and Air Security transfer elderly patients from NZDF ambulances to the Air Force's C-130 Hercules for transport to other parts of NZ. SGT Sarah Miller and LAC Janine Potter prepare an elderly patient for transfer".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by the New Zealand Defence Force, "The NZ Defence Force helps out after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Army and Air Force Medics as well as Hercules crew and Air Security transfer elderly patients from NZDF ambulances to the Air Force's C-130 Hercules for transport to other parts of NZ. WO1 Tim Crow (left) prepares to lift a patient onto the Hercules".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of Celia Wade-Brown, Mayor of Wellington, speaking at a graduation ceremony for more than 40 new civil defence volunteers in the Wellington Town Hall. Members of the Wellington Emergency Management Office team were presented certificates of appreciation during this event. The certificates were presented to the members to honour their involvement in the emergency response to the 22 February 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a press conference with Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews and Dean Peter Beck, about the interim plans for the earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral. In the press conference Matthews announces that the Cathedral will be deconsecrated, that parts of it will be demolished, and that the rest will be made safe. These measures will allow the recovery of artefacts and heritage items from the building.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of interviews with three residents about their Port Hills properties. The video was filmed the day after Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee announced the red-zoning of 285 Port Hills properties. The video includes an interview with Marine Kent (whose house was zoned white to green), Mark Tranter (whose house was zoned white to red), and Tony Ging (whose house is still white-zoned).

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

Aerial footage of the Christchurch central city, taken in April 2011, several months after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The video shows damage to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Manchester Street, the Press building, the Octagon Live restaurant, St Elmo Courts, Cashel Mall, the Regent Theatre, the Arts Centre, Woolsack Lane, and the Farmers Building car park. It also shows USAR members meeting in Cathedral Square.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of the second part of an address by Dr. Rod Carr, Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury, at the 2012 Seismics and the City forum. Dr. Carr talks about how the University coped with the immediate disruption caused by the February earthquake, and turned a crisis into an opportunity by strengthening its learning and innovation roles in seismic-related areas and other domains.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of the first part of an address by Dr. Rod Carr, Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury, at the 2012 Seismics and the City forum. Dr. Carr talks about how the University coped with the immediate disruption caused by the February earthquake, and turned a crisis into an opportunity by strengthening its learning and innovation roles in seismic-related areas and other domains.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of Daniel (back-left), Kristie (back-right), Clive (front-left) and Karen Lingley Richardson (front-right) in front of their former Kaiapoi residence. The photograph was taken by Cosmo Kentish-Barnes for Still Here, an artistic project supported by All Right?. Kentish-Barnes produced a series of photographs of exiled residents, accompanied with a first-person account of their life since the earthquakes.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Country Theme store on the corner of Manchester and St Asaph Streets. Sections of the second storey walls have crumbled, and the bricks have fallen onto the footpath below. Wire fences have been placed around the building as a cordon. Red stickers on the front door and the wire fence indicate that the building is not safe to enter.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Iconic Bar and the former Christchurch City Council offices on Manchester Street. The outer walls of the Council offices and the top storey of Iconic have collapsed, exposing the insides of the buildings. The bricks and other rubble have been cleared from the footpath in front. USAR codes have been spray-painted next to the entrance of Iconic.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video about the New Zealand Police and the New Zealand Army working in Christchurch to keep the city safe following the 4 September 2010 earthquake. The video includes an interview with Senior Sergeant Phillip Dean, Captain Mark Rutledge, Lance Corporal Aaron Tuhi, Lieutenant Dennis Petre, and Second Lieutenant David Pedrosa-Durie. It also includes footage of the New Zealand Military preparing meals at Burnham Camp.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Iconic bar on the corner of Manchester and Gloucester Streets. Large sections of the outer walls have collapsed, the bricks and masonry spilling onto the footpath below, crushing several cars. USAR codes have been spray-painted near the door and a red sticker has been taped above. The red sticker indicates that the building is unsafe to enter.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake-damaged Our City O-Tautahi Building on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace. Steel bracing has been placed against the building to secure the brick walls. The bracing is supported by large concrete blocks. Wire fences have also been placed around the bottom of the building as a cordon. Scaffolding has been erected around the tower to the right.