The Government seems likely to face higher costs as it looks to strengthen the country's infrastructure in the wake of the Canterbury earthquakes.
The first report into the damage done to three large buildings in the Christchurch earthquake is recommending urgent steps be taken around the country to strengthen buildings with stairwells.
A Christchurch businessman has told the Earthquake Royal Commission the city council was a nightmare to deal with when he was trying to strengthen his building before the September quake.
Text at the top of the cartoon reads 'NZ city strengthening?' A whole city enclosed in a glass dome and balanced on huge springs intended to make it earthquake resistant rocks as another aftershock hits. Context - Two earthquakes and hundreds of aftershocks have hit Christchurch, the first on 4 September 2010 and a second more devastating one on 22 February 2011. There has been great emphasis on making heritage buildings that are rebuilt and all new buildings earthquake resistant. The example in the cartoon is perhaps a Springs-with-damper base isolator. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A video about field trials conducted by the Department of Building and Housing at Queen Elizabeth II Park in Christchurch. Fifty kilograms of explosives are being used to simulate a magnitude-4 earthquake at a distance of 10 kilometres. The aim of the trials is to test soil-strengthening techniques that could be used to repair damaged land in Christchurch.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
A earthquake simulation structure built at the College of Engineering, it is designed to demonstrate a retrofit of seismic strengthening to a structure.
The Christchurch City Council has faced tough questioning at the Royal Commission into the Canterbury earthquakes over its role in ensuring buildings are earthquake strengthened.
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.
An as-built reinforced concrete (RC) frame building designed and constructed according to pre-1970s code design construction practice has been recently tested on the shake table at the University of Canterbury. The specimen, 1/2.5 scaled version of the original prototype, consists of two 3-storey 2-bay asymmetric frames in parallel, one interior and one exterior, jointed together by transverse beams and floor slabs. Following the benchmark test, a retrofit intervention has been proposed to rehabilitate the tested specimen. In this paper, detailed information on the assessment and design of the seismic retrofit procedure using GFRP (glass fibre reinforced polymer) materials is given for the whole frame. Hierarchy of strength and sequence of events (damage mechanisms) in the panel zone region are evaluated using a moment-axial load (M-N) interaction performance domain, according to a performance-based retrofit philosophy. Specific limit states or design objectives are targeted with attention given to both strength and deformation limits. In addition, an innovative retrofit solution using FRP anchor dowels for the corner beam-column joints with slabs is proposed. Finally, in order to provide a practical tool for engineering practice, the retrofit procedure is provided in a step-by step flowchart fashion.
A man struggles to hold upright a rigid and obstinate man who is shaking like an earthquake. The man pushing says 'That's NOT what we meant by quake strengthening Aaron!' Context: Aaron Gilmore is a councillor, a new councillor, and has been bucking the trend when it comes to voting for the CEO Tony Marryatt who is tied up with CERA, the canterbury earthquake authority, by publicly making his personal views known to the public on radio etc before the voting has been cast. Councillors are meant to present an unbiased facade when it comes to voting. Gilmore was talking to the media and in obvious support of Marryatt....the result being that there was pressure on Gilmore to abstain from voting and stand down from the process. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
More pressure on interested bidders in the Pike River mine to recover the bodies, from both the government and unions. The government's new plan to strengthen infrastructure after the Canterbury earthquakes, it's already criticised for not going far enough and the AA again attacks petrol companies for not cutting prices, despite falling oil prices.
Sadly the days are numbered after the 6.3 quake that hit Christchurch 22 February 2011! You can see the blue streel strengthening on the tower from the earthquake on 4 September 2010. Also if you look closely you can see the cracks that have determained its fate! Press L.
On September the 4th 2010 and February 22nd 2011 the Canterbury region of New Zealand was shaken by two massive earthquakes. This paper is set broadly within the civil defence and emergency management literature and informed by recent work on community participation and social capital in the building of resilient cities. Work in this area indicates a need to recognise both the formal institutional response to the earthquakes as well as the substantive role communities play in their own recovery. The range of factors that facilitate or hinder community involvement also needs to be better understood. This paper interrogates the assumption that recovery agencies and officials are both willing and able to engage communities who are themselves willing and able to be engaged in accordance with recovery best practice. Case studies of three community groups – CanCERN, Greening the Rubble and Gap Filler – illustrate some of the difficulties associated with becoming a community during the disaster recovery phase. Based on my own observations and experiences, combined with data from approximately 50 in-depth interviews with Christchurch residents and representatives from community groups, the Christchurch City Council, the Earthquake Commission and so on, this paper outlines some practical strategies emerging communities may use in the early disaster recovery phase that then strengthens their ability to ‘participate’ in the recovery process.