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Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of an interview with Joe Bennett, columnist and Lyttelton resident, about his experiences during the 22 February 2011 earthquake, and his hopes for post-quake Christchurch. This video was part of The Press's 'Christchurch, one year after February 22, 2011' series.

Images, eqnz.chch.2010

North Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand. Tens of thousands turned out today to mark the one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck the city at 12.51pm on 22 February, 2011. 185 people lost their lives. file.stuff.co.nz/stuff/12-51/ Took 4 pa...

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This paper describes the pounding damage sustained by buildings in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Approximately 6% of buildings in Christchurch CBD were observed to have suffered some form of serious pounding damage. Typical and exceptional examples of building pounding damage are presented and discussed. Almost all building pounding damage occurred in unreinforced masonry buildings, highlighting their vulnerability to this phenomenon. Modern buildings were found to be vulnerable to pounding damage where overly stiff and strong ‘flashing’ components were installed in existing building separations. Soil variability is identified as a key aspect that amplifies the relative movement of buildings, and hence increases the likelihood of pounding damage. Building pounding damage is compared to the predicted critical pounding weaknesses that have been identified in previous analytical research.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This paper describes the pounding damage sustained by buildings in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Approximately 6% of buildings in Christchurch CBD were observed to have suffered some form of serious pounding damage. Typical and exceptional examples of building pounding damage are presented and discussed. Almost all building pounding damage occurred in unreinforced masonry buildings, highlighting their vulnerability to this phenomenon. Modern buildings were found to be vulnerable to pounding damage where overly stiff and strong ‘flashing’ components were installed in existing building separations. Soil variability is identified as a key aspect that amplifies the relative movement of buildings, and hence increases the likelihood of pounding damage. Building pounding damage is compared to the predicted critical pounding weaknesses that have been identified in previous analytical research.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

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".

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of an interview with Robin Judkins, Canterbury personality and Coast to Coast founder, about his experiences during the 22 February 2011 earthquake, and the changes to Christchurch. This video is part of The Press's 'Christchurch, one year after February 22, 2011' series.

Images, eqnz.chch.2010

The Christchurch Cathedral after loosing its tower and spire after the 6.3 quake hit Christchurch 22 February 2011. The February 22 quake cracked pillars, twisted walls, shattered stained glass, collapsed buttresses, fractured masonry and toppled the tower. The rose window in the west wall collapsed in the June aftershocks. Demolition of the Chr...

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A laminated sign for the 2011 Festival of Flowers attached to a wooden planter. The plants in the planter are dry and dead. The photographer comments, "The theme for the 2011 Festival of Flowers was 'burst! of water'. The Christchurch February earthquake came and water and sand called liquefaction burst out of the ground all around the area. Ironically the plants for the festival were left unattended in the cordoned off red zone and they would have loved a little burst of water".

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of an interview with Michael Ardagh, Professor of Emergency Medicine at Christchurch Hospital. Ardagh talks about the challenges the emergency department at the Christchurch Hospital faced following the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

In the period between September 2010 and December 2011, Christchurch (New Zealand) and its surroundings were hit by a series of strong earthquakes including six significant events, all generated by local faults in proximity to the city: 4 September 2010 (Mw=7.1), 22 February 2011 (Mw=6.2), 13 June 2011 (Mw=5.3 and Mw=6.0) and 23 December 2011 (M=5.8 and (M=5.9) earthquakes. As shown in Figure 1, the causative faults of the earthquakes were very close to or within the city boundaries thus generating very strong ground motions and causing tremendous damage throughout the city. Christchurch is shown as a lighter colour area, and its Central Business District (CBD) is marked with a white square area in the figure. Note that the sequence of earthquakes started to the west of the city and then propagated to the south, south-east and east of the city through a set of separate but apparently interacting faults. Because of their strength and proximity to the city, the earthquakes caused tremendous physical damage and impacts on the people, natural and built environments of Christchurch. The 22 February 2011 earthquake was particularly devastating. The ground motions generated by this earthquake were intense and in many parts of Christchurch substantially above the ground motions used to design the buildings in Christchurch. The earthquake caused 182 fatalities, collapse of two multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings, collapse or partial collapse of many unreinforced masonry structures including the historic Christchurch Cathedral. The Central Business District (CBD) of Christchurch, which is the central heart of the city just east of Hagley Park, was practically lost with majority of its 3,000 buildings being damaged beyond repair. Widespread liquefaction in the suburbs of Christchurch, as well as rock falls and slope/cliff instabilities in the Port Hills affected tens of thousands of residential buildings and properties, and shattered the lifelines and infrastructure over approximately one third of the city area. The total economic loss caused by the 2010-2011 Christchurch earthquakes is currently estimated to be in the range between 25 and 30 billion NZ dollars (or 15% to 18% of New Zealand’s GDP). After each major earthquake, comprehensive field investigations and inspections were conducted to document the liquefaction-induced land damage, lateral spreading displacements and their impacts on buildings and infrastructure. In addition, the ground motions produced by the earthquakes were recorded by approximately 15 strong motion stations within (close to) the city boundaries providing and impressive wealth of data, records and observations of the performance of ground and various types of structures during this unusual sequence of strong local earthquakes affecting a city. This paper discusses the liquefaction in residential areas and focuses on its impacts on dwellings (residential houses) and potable water system in the Christchurch suburbs. The ground conditions of Christchurch including the depositional history of soils, their composition, age and groundwater regime are first discussed. Detailed liquefaction maps illustrating the extent and severity of liquefaction across Christchurch triggered by the sequence of earthquakes including multiple episodes of severe re-liquefaction are next presented. Characteristic liquefaction-induced damage to residential houses is then described focussing on the performance of typical house foundations in areas affected by liquefaction. Liquefaction impacts on the potable water system of Christchurch is also briefly summarized including correlation between the damage to the system, liquefaction severity, and the performance of different pipe materials. Finally, the characteristics of Christchurch liquefaction and its impacts on built environment are discussed in relation to the liquefaction-induced damage in Japan during the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

A container labelled 'Chch East residents'has landed on the far side of the planet Mars. Others have landed or are descending. People in space suits exit the containers. One of them shakes hands with a green Martian commenting to him that the ground there is solid, it has nice views and the locals are a lot less alien than the insurance agents back home. Context: refers to NASA's exploration of the surface of Mars by the Curiosity rover. The rover landed on Mars in September 2012 and the ongoing problems of earthquake survivors in Christchurch's eastern suburbs. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).