As a result of the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury Earthquake Swarm of 2010-2011 the New Zealand Government has introduced new legislation that will require the mandatory strengthening of all earthquake-prone buildings in New Zealand. An earthquake prone building is currently defined as a building that is less than one third the seismic strength of a new building. If an owner does not wish to strengthen their buildings then they must demolish them. Seismic retrofitting of buildings is a form of property development and as such, the decision to retrofit or not should be based on a robust and soundly conducted feasibility study. Feasibility studies on seismic retrofitting can be particularly challenging for a number of reasons thus making it difficult for owners to make informed and sound decisions relating to their earthquake prone buildings. This paper considers the concept and process of feasibility analysis as applied to earthquake prone buildings and discusses the current challenges posed by such feasibility studies. A number of recommendations are made in an attempt to help develop a best practice model for decision making relating to earthquake prone buildings."
ANDREW LITTLE to the Prime Minister: What are the priorities for the Government in assisting communities affected by yesterday’s earthquake? MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Finance: What advice has he received about the economic impact of the Kaikōura earthquake? EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister of Transport: What updates can he give on the transport sector’s response to earthquake damage to State Highway 1 and the rail line between Seddon and Cheviot? GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Finance: What is his initial assessment of the fiscal impact of yesterday morning’s earthquake and what, if any, new or changed Budget allocations is he considering in response to the earthquake? PAUL FOSTER-BELL to the Minister of Civil Defence: How is the Government supporting people affected by the Kaikōura earthquake? RON MARK to the Minister of Civil Defence: Can the Government assure New Zealanders on our level of preparedness for all natural disasters? SUE MORONEY to the Minister of Transport: What roads and public transport services are currently not operational following damage from the earthquake yesterday and when is it expected access and services will be restored? BRETT HUDSON to the Minister of Transport: What action is the Government taking to repair damaged transport infrastructure following the Kaikōura earthquake? GARETH HUGHES to the Minister of Broadcasting: Will she join with me to acknowledge the work of all media in New Zealand, which is so important in times of natural disaster and crisis; if so, will she consider increasing our public broadcaster Radio New Zealand’s funding in Budget 2017? CLAYTON MITCHELL to the Minister of Civil Defence: What progress has been made, if any, on new civil defence legislation which focuses on large and significant events such as the Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes? ALASTAIR SCOTT to the Minister of Health: What updates has he received on the Government’s health response to the Kaikōura earthquake? CLARE CURRAN to the Minister of Civil Defence: What actions have been taken by Civil Defence to ensure those people in the areas worst hit by the earthquake have enough food, clothing, water, and shelter?
The 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquakes brought devastation to the city of Christchurch and has irrevocably affected the lives of the city’s residents. Years after the conclusion of these earthquakes, Christchurch and its residents are well on the path to recovery. Crime has proven an ongoing topic of discussion throughout this period, with news reports of increased burglary and arson in areas left largely abandoned by earthquake damage, and a rise in violent crime in suburban areas of Christchurch. Following the body of research that has considered the reaction of crime to natural disasters, this research has sought to comprehensively examine and understand the effects that the Canterbury Earthquakes had on crime. Examining Christchurch-wide offending, crime rates fell over the study period (July 2008 to June 2013), with the exception of domestic violence. Aside from a momentary increase in burglary in the days immediately following the Christchurch Earthquake, crime rates (as of 2013) have remained largely below pre-earthquake levels. Using Dual Kernel Density Estimation Analysis, a distinct spatial change in pre-earthquake crime hotspots was observed. These changes included an enormous decrease in central city offences, a rise in burglary in the eastern suburbs, and an increase in assault in areas outside of the central city. Logistic regression analysis, using a time-compensated dependent variable, identified a number of statistically-significant relationships between per CAU crime rate change and factors measuring socio-demographic characteristics, community cohesion, and the severity of disaster effects. The significance of these findings was discussed using elements of Social Disorganisation Theory, Routine Activity Theory, and Strain Theory. Consistent with past findings, social order was largely maintained following the Canterbury Earthquakes, with suggestion that increased collective efficacy and therapeutic communities had a negative influence on crime in the post-earthquake period. Areas of increased burglary and assault were associated with large population decreases, suggesting a link with the dissolution of communities and the removal of their inherent informal guardianship. Though observed, the increase in domestic violence was not associated with most neighbourhood-level variables. Trends in crime after the Canterbury Earthquakes were largely consistent with past research, and the media’s portrayal.
Six stands located on different land forms in mixed old-growth Nothofagus forests in the Matiri Valley (northwest of South Island, New Zealand) were sampled to examine the effects of two recent large earthquakes on tree establishment and tree-ring growth, and how these varied across land forms. 50 trees were cored in each stand to determine age structure and the cores were cross-dated to precisely date unusual periods of radial growth. The 1968 earthquake (M = 7.1, epicentre 35 km from the study area) had no discernible impact on the sampled stands. The impact of the 1929 earthquake (M = 7.7, epicentre 20 km from the study area) varied between stands, depending on whether or not they had been damaged by soil or rock movement. In all stands, the age structures showed a pulse of N. fusca establishment following the 1929 earthquake, with this species dominating establishment in large gaps created by landslides. Smaller gaps, created by branch or tree death, were closed by both N. fusca and N. menziesii. The long period of releases (1929-1945) indicates that direct earthquake damage was not the only cause of tree death, and that many trees died subsequently most likely of pathogen attack or a drought in the early 1930s. The impacts of the 1929 earthquake are compared to a storm in 1905 and a drought in 1974-1978 which also affected forests in the region. Our results confirm that earthquakes are an important factor driving forest dynamics in this tectonically active region, and that the diversity of earthquake impacts is a major source of heterogeneity in forest structure and regeneration.
In its latest update, the Earthquake Commission says it will have to manage repairs to 50-thousand homes moderately or seriously damaged by the Canterbury earthquake four weeks ago.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake appeal: Jill Creamer holds up one of the Christmas cakes being sold to boost funds for Kaiapoi residents affected by the 4 September earthquake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Pilar Villamor, an earthquake scientist with GNS, near the end of the earthquake fault, which has caused a dip in this paddock, leading to flooding".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch begins the slow recovery process after last weeks devastating 7.1 earthquake. Broken ground caused by the earthquake in a residential area near Kaipoi".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch begins the slow recovery process after last weeks devastating 7.1 earthquake. Broken ground caused by the earthquake in a residential area near Kaipoi".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake hits Christchurch. Damage to buildings after the 7.1 earthquake which hit Christchurch in the very early hours. Corner Manchester Street and Worcester Street".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake aftermath. Day after the earthquake that rocked in Christchurch, Mana Tamaiparea filling water bottles at a Civil Defence centre in Kaiapoi North School".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake damage in central Christchurch after a 6.3 earthquake. A businessman walks down the street with two computers in the minutes after Tuesday's quake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake hits Christchurch. Damage to buildings after the 7.1 earthquake which hit Christchurch in the very early hours. Corner Manchester Street and Worcester Street".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake hits Christchurch. Damage to buildings after the 7.1 earthquake which hit Christchurch in the very early hours. Corner Manchester Street and Worcester Street".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake hits Christchurch. Damage to buildings after the 7.1 earthquake which hit Christchurch in the very early hours. Corner Manchester Street and Worcester Street".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake hits Christchurch. Damage to buildings after the 7.1 earthquake which hit Christchurch in the very early hours. Corner Manchester Street and Worcester Street".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch earthquake. Nicola Sanderson wih her son Tony (7) who she is puting on an aircraft and getting out of Christchurch because of the earthquakes".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake damage in central Christchurch after a 6.3 earthquake. A businessman walks down the street with two computers in the minutes after Tuesday's quake".
Despite over a century of study, the relationship between lunar cycles and earthquakes remains controversial and difficult to quantitatively investigate. Perhaps as a consequence, major earthquakes around the globe are frequently followed by 'prediction' claims, using lunar cycles, that generate media furore and pressure scientists to provide resolute answers. The 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand were no exception; significant media attention was given to lunarderived earthquake predictions by non-scientists, even though the predictions were merely 'opinions' and were not based on any statistically robust temporal or causal relationships. This thesis provides a framework for studying lunisolar earthquake temporal relationships by developing replicable statistical methodology based on peer reviewed literature. Notable in the methodology is a high accuracy ephemeris, called ECLPSE, designed specifically by the author for use on earthquake catalogs, and a model for performing phase angle analysis. The statistical tests were carried out on two 'declustered' seismic catalogs, one containing the aftershocks from the Mw7.1 earthquake in Canterbury, and the other containing Australian seismicity from the past two decades. Australia is an intraplate setting far removed from active plate boundaries and Canterbury is proximal to a plate boundary, thus allowing for comparison based on tectonic regime and corresponding tectonic loading rate. No strong, conclusive, statistical correlations were found at any level of the earthquake catalogs, looking at large events, onshore events, offshore events, and the fault type of some events. This was concluded using Schuster's test of significance with α=5% and analysis of standard deviations. A few weak correlations, with p-5-10% of rejecting the null hypothesis, and anomalous standard deviations were found, but these are difficult to interpret. The results invalidate the statistical robustness of 'earthquake predictions' using lunisolar parameters in this instance. An ambitious researcher could improve on the quality of the results and on the range of parameters analyzed. The conclusions of the thesis raise more questions than answers, but the thesis provides an adaptable methodology that can be used to further investigation the problem.
Residents of Christchurch's flood-prone Flockton Basin say a court judgment on how the Earthquake Commission handles claims based on the increased flood risk caused by the earthquakes is bitter sweet.
Site of industry representative organisations provides a one-stop portal where Cantabrians can research and engage local reconstruction professionals from plumbers and electricians to builders and civil contractors. Includes advice and tips.
About the Network (AvON) and its plans to create a park and reserve in the Christchurch red zone around the Avon River. Includes resources and information about its projects.
Lyttelton Port near Christchurch is now almost three and a half hectares larger than it was before the earthquakes - as earthquake rubble is dumped in the harbour to reclaim land.
Both sides are expected to sum up their cases today in the legal battle between Tower Insurance and a Christchurch couple, over the amount owed on an earthquake damaged home.
Animals have also suffered upheaval because of the Christchurch earthquakes. Jan Collins is one of those caring for some the hundreds of pets who have been left homeless because of the earthquakes.
As people in Canterbury continue to recover from the earthquake that struck 12 days ago, it's re-ignited the memories of those who survived the deadly 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
The Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes continues today, with overseas experts critiquing a New Zealand report that calls for a two-billion dollar upgrade to strengthen earthquake-prone buildings.
The increase began after Christchurch's 2011 earthquakes, but the District Health Board is expecting to face even more challenges following effects of the Port Hills fires and last year's earthquake in Kaikoura.
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 11 June 2012 entitled, "Sobering Sunday Stroll".
An entry from Ruth Gardner's blog for 2 July 2012 entitled, "Walking on Worcester".