An entry from Deb Robertson's blog for 20 September 2012 entitled, "A few snapshots of the residential red-zone....".
In recent Canterbury earthquakes, structures have performed well in terms of life safety but the estimated total cost of the rebuild was as high as $40 billion. The major contributors to this cost are repair/demolition/rebuild cost, the resulting downtime and business interruption. For this reason, the authors are exploring alternate building systems that can minimize the downtime and business interruption due to building damage in an earthquake; thereby greatly reducing the financial implications of seismic events. In this paper, a sustainable and demountable precast reinforced concrete (RC) frame system in which the precast members are connected via steel tubes/plates or steel angles/plates and high strength friction grip (HSFG) bolts is introduced. In the proposed system, damaged structural elements in seismic frames can be easily replaced with new ones; thereby making it an easily and quickly repairable and a low-loss system. The column to foundation connection in the proposed system can be designed either as fixed or pinned depending on the requirement of strength and stiffness. In a fixed base frame system, ground storey columns will also be damaged along with beams in seismic events, which are to be replaced after seismic events; whereas in a pin base frame only beams (which are easy to replace) will be damaged. Low to medium rise (3-6 storey) precast RC frame buildings with fixed and pin bases are analyzed in this paper; and their lateral capacity, lateral stiffness and natural period are scrutinized to better understand the pros and cons of the demountable precast frame system with fixed and pin base connections.
A video of an interview with Peter Cammock and Cathy Allen about growing up on River Road and their feelings of loss and sadness that it is now part of the residential red zone.
Taken several days after the 6.3 magnatude quake hit Christchurch 22 February 2011. Processed in HDR to capture some of the "feeling" when thinking about the loss of lives when the quake hit.
Taken several days after the 6.3 magnatude quake hit Christchurch 22 February 2011. Processed in HDR to capture some of the "feeling" when thinking about the loss of lives when the quake hit.
Taken several days after the 6.3 magnatude quake hit Christchurch 22 February 2011. Processed in HDR to capture some of the "feeling" when thinking about the loss of lives when the quake hit.
The University of Canterbury has initialized a research program focusing on the seismic sustainability of structures. As part of this program, the relative seismic sustainability of various structures will be assessed to identify those with the highest sustainability for the Christchurch rebuild and general use in New Zealand. This preliminary case study assesses one reinforced concrete (RC) frame structure and one RC wall structure. The scenario loss is evaluated for two earthquake records considering direct losses only in order to explain and illustrate the methodology.
This study analyses the Earthquake Commission’s (EQC) insurance claims database to investigate the influence of seismic intensity and property damage resulting from the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) on the repair costs and claim settlement duration for residential buildings. Firstly, the ratio of building repair cost to its replacement cost was expressed as a Building Loss Ratio (BLR), which was further extended to Regional Loss Ratio (RLR) for greater Christchurch by multiplying the average of all building loss ratios with the proportion of building stock that lodged an insurance claim. Secondly, the total time required to settle the claim and the time taken to complete each phase of the claim settlement process were obtained. Based on the database, the regional loss ratio for greater Christchurch for three events producing shakings of intensities 6, 7, and 8 on the modified Mercalli intensity scale were 0.013, 0.066, and 0.171, respectively. Furthermore, small (less than NZD15,000), medium (between NZD15,000 and NZD100,000), and large (more than NZD100,000) claims took 0.35-0.55, 1.95-2.45, and 3.35-3.85 years to settle regardless of the building’s construction period and earthquake intensities. The number of claims was also disaggregated by various building characteristics to evaluate their relative contribution to the damage and repair costs.
This blog may lean more heavily on the personal than the archaeological. Every year, thousands of Kiwis and Aussies commemorate ANZAC Day. We take this time to reflect on the losses of war, and the terrible costs it has had … Continue reading →
A story submitted by Lin to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Sarndra to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Elizabeth to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Bettina to the QuakeStories website.
Summary of oral history interview with Jenny May about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Summary of oral history interview with Nicky Wagner about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Summary of oral history interview with Violet about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Summary of oral history interview with Jacinta O'Reilly about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Summary of oral history interview with Teruyo about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Transcript of Leslie Llewellyn James Griffiths's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Blair Anderson's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Jan's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Robin Robins's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of participant number NB763's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Sherrilee's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Summary of oral history interview with Michelle Whitaker about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Summary of oral history interview with Rana about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes
Summary of oral history interview with Caroline about her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Transcript of Denny O'Brien-Warriner's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
A pdf transcript of Rosie Belton's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.
Transcript of Angela Hunt's earthquake story, captured by the UC QuakeBox project.