The basement of a building in Kaiapoi, the ceiling collapsed in the corner. The top two stories of the building were structurally compromised and have been demolished.
Structural damage to St Elmo Courts with diagonal cracks between the windows of the building. These cracks show that there has been rocking of the masonry piers which means there is no vertical reinforcement provided in the walls.
On 4 September 2010, a magnitude Mw 7.1 earthquake struck the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand. The epicentre of the earthquake was located in the Darfield area about 40 km west of the city of Christchurch. Extensive damage was inflicted to lifelines and residential houses due to widespread liquefaction and lateral spreading in areas close to major streams, rivers and wetlands throughout Christchurch and Kaiapoi. Unreinforced masonry buildings also suffered extensive damage throughout the region. Despite the severe damage to infrastructure and residential houses, fortunately, no deaths occurred and only two injuries were reported in this earthquake. From an engineering viewpoint, one may argue that the most significant aspects of the 2010 Darfield Earthquake were geotechnical in nature, with liquefaction and lateral spreading being the principal culprits for the inflicted damage. Following the earthquake, an intensive geotechnical reconnaissance was conducted to capture evidence and perishable data from this event. This paper summarizes the observations and preliminary findings from this early reconnaissance work.
St Elmo Courts, a NZHPT heritage building on the corner of Hereford and Montreal Streets. The building was severely damaged during the 4 September earthquake, with diagonal cracking between the windows. Scaffolding has been placed around the bottom of the building.
The bell inside the Cathedral tower, which had no structural damage after the 4 September earthquake.
Nothing wrong with this carpark building; that's just a mural on one of the structural shear walls.
The Harbourlight Theatre on London Street in Lyttelton. There is cracking along the side of the building and damage to the domes on top of the towers. Bracing has been placed at the top to limit further damage and to stop debris from falling on the road.
A gap between the house and the foundations along Avonside drive caused when the house was lifted during the 4 September earthquake.
Colour photograph of the north side of St. Elmo's Courts after the 4 September 2010 earthquake, during which it suffered extensive structural damage.
An abandoned house on Avonside Drive. A red sign taped to the window states that the house is "Unsafe" to enter.
A photograph of a green sticker on the window of The Dolls House Shop antique store on Colombo Street. The sticker indicates that the store is safe to enter. The sign reads, "Inspected, no restriction on use or occupancy. This building has received a brief inspection only. While no apparent structural or other safety hazards have been found, a more comprehensive inspection of the exterior and interior may reveal safety hazards". The structural engineer has written on the sign "propping to rear of building inadequate, fire egress also at rear inappropriate, no occupancy to second storey".
This beautiful building on Madras Street may be condemned after suffering serious structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Chris Piper in his family's St Martins ruined house where structural damage has probably written it off".
Red stickered door means that this pub on Madras Street is no-go due to structural damage suffered in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
This beautiful building on Madras Street is red stickered and may be condemned if the structural damage it suffered in the magnitude 7,1 earthquake on Saturday 4 September 2010 cannot be repaired.
This beautiful building on Madras Street is red stickered and may be condemned if the structural damage it suffered in the magnitude 7,1 earthquake on Saturday 4 September 2010 cannot be repaired.
This beautiful building on Madras Street is red stickered and may be condemned if the structural damage it suffered in the magnitude 7,1 earthquake on Saturday 4 September 2010 cannot be repaired.
This paper presents the probabilistic seismic performance and loss assessment of an actual bridge– foundation–soil system, the Fitzgerald Avenue twin bridges in Christchurch, New Zealand. A two-dimensional finite element model of the longitudinal direction of the system is modelled using advanced soil and structural constitutive models. Ground motions at multiple levels of intensity are selected based on the seismic hazard deaggregation at the site. Based on rigorous examination of several deterministic analyses, engineering demand parameters (EDP’s), which capture the global and local demand, and consequent damage to the bridge and foundation are determined. A probabilistic seismic loss assessment of the structure considering both direct repair and loss of functionality consequences was performed to holistically assess the seismi risk of the system. It was found that the non-horizontal stratification of the soils, liquefaction, and soil–structure interaction had pronounced effects on the seismic demand distribution of the bridge components, of which the north abutment piles and central pier were critical in the systems seismic performance. The consequences due to loss of functionality of the bridge during repair were significantly larger than the direct repair costs, with over a 2% in 50 year probability of the total loss exceeding twice the book-value of the structure.
A photograph of a sign taped to one of the buildings in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury. The sign indicates that the building has been inspected by a structural engineer and is safe to enter.
Efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen this building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street) to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen this building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street) to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
A green notice on a building on Manchester Street, indicating that it has been assessed by structural engineers and is safe. Every building in Christchurch was assessed in this way, a green, yellow or red notice placed on the front door or window. Green means ok to enter; yellow, restricted use; red, not safe to enter.
Cracks have ripped through external columns of this 7 storey building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street), and efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen it to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Cracks have ripped through external columns of this 7 storey building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street), and efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen it to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Cracks have ripped through external columns of this 7 storey building (corner of Hereford Street / Manchester Street), and efforts are being made to shore up and strengthen it to save it from demolition after it suffered structural damage in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.