Earthquakes are insured only with public sector involvement in high-income countries where the risk of earthquakes is perceived to be high. The proto-typical examples of this public sector involvement are the public earthquake insurance schemes in California, Japan, and New Zealand (NZ). Each of these insurance programs is structured differently, and the purpose of this paper is to examine these differences using a concrete case-study, the sequence of earthquakes that occurred in the Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011. This event turned out to have been the most heavily insured earthquake event in history. We examine what would have been the outcome of the earthquakes had the system of insurance in NZ been different. In particular, we focus on the public earthquake insurance programs in California (the California Earthquake Authority - CEA), and in Japan (Japanese Earthquake Reinsurance - JER). Overall, the aggregate cost to the public insurer in NZ was $NZ 11.1 billion in its response to the earthquakes. If a similar-sized disaster event had occurred in Japan and California, homeowners would have received $NZ 2.5 billion and $NZ 1.4 billion from the JER and CEA, respectively. We further describe the spatial and distributive patterns of these different scenarios.
When the new Canterbury Earthquake Memorial was revealed last month, something unusual happened for a work of public art. It was universally appreciated! Christchurch filmmaker Rick Harvie has documented the two year long project from seeking submissions though to the official ceremony. Rick tells Lynn Freeman he's about to put his now finished documentary, including footage of the ceremony and feedback from a range of people, online.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing first responders at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing an earthquake memorial trellis at the site of the former Canterbury Television building.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing an earthquake memorial trellis at the site of the former Canterbury Television building.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing guests being seated prior to the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing cameramen and journalists at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing the appointed media viewing area at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing first responders laying wreaths at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing a gentleman reading messages on a commemoration board at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing the appointed first responders and public viewing areas at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing a bouquet of flowers and a note attached to an earthquake memorial trellis at the site of the former Canterbury Television building.
After the magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Canterbury on 4 September 2010, most media reports claimed that no lives had been lost. But In fact, this first earthquake killed at least 3000 chickens, eight cows, one dog, a lemur and 150 aquarium fish. University of Canterbury associate professor Annie Potts, along with co-author Donelle Gadenne, wrote Animals in Emergencies: Learning from the Christchurch Earthquakes, revealing what happened to the animals during and after the series of quakes. Annie Potts will give a public lecture, 'Animals and natural disasters: Learning from recent earthquakes', on Thursday 16 March, 7pm at UC Ilam campus, Christchurch. Register to attend free at: www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect
Lyttelton was hit harder than most by the Christchurch earthquakes - particularly the Lyttelton Museum. But now it's back - triumphantly, we may say! - with a little help from its friends, past and present. Key historical figures in Lyttelton's history are brought back to life in a new exhibition by Julia Holden - Lyttelton Redux - which has just opened at Canterbury Museum.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing brass band members at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service. Behind the band is a digital screen showing words of thanks from survivors.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing Karen Bishop attaching a windmill to an earthquake memorial trellis in memory of her son Andrew Bishop at the site of the former Canterbury Television building.
The Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial was unveiled to the public at a memorial attended by more than 3000 people.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing brass band members at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial Service. Behind the band is a digital screen showing an image of flowers floating in the Avon River.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken 22 February 2017 showing a windmill attached to an earthquake memorial trellis by Karen Bishop in memory of her son Andrew Bishop at the site of the former Canterbury Television building.
A story submitted by Andy R to the QuakeStories website.
The insurance arms of Suncorp New Zealand have reported lower profits off the back of the Kaikoura earthquake and a rise in Canterbury earthquake claims. .
'Is this the Brighter Future?': Rachel Graham looks at how the Government's decisions have impacted the lives of people in Christchurch.
Wellington's about to host a symposium called Shared Lines, inviting artists from Japan, Kaikoura and Christchurch to talk about their experiences and their art.
Only two of 20 houses left in the Rawhiti Earthquake Village. This from the sign on perimeter fence: "Since 2011, Rawhiti Domain has been used to provide temporary accommodation for those affected by the Canterbury earthquakes. Over 200 households have used the 20 houses while their own homes have been repaired or rebuilt. The demand for acco...
During the 2010/2011 Canterbury earthquakes, Reinforced Concrete Frame with Masonry Infill (RCFMI) buildings were subjected to significant lateral loads. A survey conducted by Christchurch City Council (CCC) and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) documented 10,777 damaged buildings, which included building characteristics (building address, the number of storeys, the year of construction, and building use) and post-earthquake damage observations (building safety information, observed damage, level of damage, and current state of the buildings). This data was merged into the Canterbury Earthquake Building Assessment (CEBA) database and was utilised to generate empirical fragility curves using the lognormal distribution method. The proposed fragility curves were expected to provide a reliable estimation of the mean vulnerability for commercial RCFMI buildings in the region http://www.13thcms.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Symposium-Info-and-Presentation-Schedule.pdf VoR - Version of Record
A woman crushed to within milimetres of her life in the Christchurch earthquake says it is murderously cavalier for Wellington's council not to cordon off weak or prone buildings.
he 2016 Building (Earthquake Prone Building) Amendment Act aims to improve the system for managing earthquake-prone buildings. The proposed changes to the Act were precipitated by the Canterbury earthquakes, and the need to improve the seismic safety of New Zealand’s building stock. However, the Act has significant ramifications for territorial authorities, organisations and individuals in small New Zealand towns, since assessing and repairing heritage buildings poses a major cost to districts with low populations and poor rental returns on commercial buildings.
A story submitted by Ailsa to the QuakeStories website.
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.