
Damage to a row of shops in Shirley. The parapets and awnings have collapsed, and the footpath is littered with rubble. The building has been cordoned off with police tape.
Cordon at the Tuam Street - Madras Street intersection, following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
Fallen chimney stack leaves a gaping hole after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Evacuating a central city flat which has been condemned following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Cordon at the Tuam Street - Madras Street intersection, following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Column reinforcement exposed under spalled concrete after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
This shop on Tuam Street survived rhe magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Saturday 4 September 2010.
Crack in the parapet of this building, resulting from the magnitude 7,1 earthquake that struck Christchurch on 4 September 2010.
The collapse of Redcliffs’ cliff in the 22 February 2011 and 13 June 2011 earthquakes were the first times ever a major failure incident occurred at Redcliffs in approximately 6000 years. This master’s thesis is a multidisciplinary engineering geological investigation sought to study these particular failure incidents, focusing on collecting the data necessary to explain the cause and effect of the cliff collapsing in the event of two major earthquakes. This study provides quantitative and qualitative data about the geotechnical attributes and engineering geological nature of the sea-cut cliff located at Redcliffs. Results from surveying the geology of Redcliffs show that the exposed lithology of the cliff face is a variably jointed rock body of welded and (relatively intact) unwelded ignimbrite, a predominantly massive unit of brecciated tuff, and a covering of wind-blown loess and soil deposit (commonly found throughout Canterbury) on top of the cliff. Moreover, detailing the external component of the slope profile shows that Redcliffs’ cliff is a 40 – 80 m cliff with two intersecting (NE and SE facing) slope aspects. The (remotely) measured geometry of the cliff face comprises of multiple outstanding gradients, averaging a slope angle of ~67 degrees (post-13 June 2011), where the steepest components are ~80 degrees, whereas the gentle sloping sections are ~44 degrees. The physical structure of Redcliffs’ cliff drastically changed after each collapse, whereby seismically induced alterations to the slope geometry resulted in material deposited on the talus at the base of the cliff. Prior to the first collapse, the variance of the gradient down the slope was minimal, with the SE Face being the most variable with up to three major gradients on one cross section. However, after each major collapse, the variability increased with more parts of the cliff face having more than one major gradient that is steeper or gentler than the remainder of the slope. The estimated volume of material lost as a result of the gradient changes was 28,267 m³ in February and 11,360 m³ in June 2011. In addition, surveys of the cliff top after the failure incidents revealed the development of fissures along the cliff edge. Monitoring 10 fissures over three months indicated that fissured by the cliff edge respond to intense seismicity (generally ≥ Mw 4) by widening. Redcliffs’ cliff collapsed on two separate occasions as a result of an accumulated amount of damage of the rock masses in the cliff (caused by weathering and erosion over time), and two Mw 6.2 trigger earthquakes which shook the Redcliffs and the surrounding area at a Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) estimated to be around 2 g. The results of the theoretical study suggests that PGA levels felt on-site during both instances of failure are the result of three major factors: source of the quake and the site affected; topographic amplification of the ground movement; the short distance between the source and the cliff for both fault ruptures; the focus of seismic energy in the direction of thrust faulting along a path that intercepts Redcliffs (and the Port Hills). Ultimately, failure on the NE and SE Faces of Redcliffs’ cliff was concluded to be global as every part of the exposed cliff face deposited a significant volume of material on the talus at the base of the cliff, with the exception of one section on the NE Face. The cliff collapses was a concurrent process that is a single (non-monotonic) event that operated as a complex series of (primarily) toppling rock falls, some sliding of blocks, and slumping of the soil mantle on top of the cliff. The first collapse had a mixture of equivalent continua slope movement of the heavily weathered / damaged surface of the cliff face, and discontinuous slope movement of the jointed inner slope (behind the heavily weathered surface); whereas the second collapse resulted in only discontinuous slope movement on account of the freshly exposed cliff face that had damage to the rock masses, in the form of old and (relatively) new discontinuous fractures, induced by earthquakes and aftershocks leading up to the point of failure.
It is unlikely engineers involved in the most serious building collapse of the Christchurch earthquake will face any external action, with the profession's administrators telling the Government there's nothing more they can do.
The first police officer at the scene of the collapsed and burning CTV building has recounted harrowing details of his efforts in the hours after the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch.
The smaller buildings that collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake, killing those in them as well as passers by, will be the focus of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission when hearings resume today
A digger works on top of a pile of soil and building rubble.
People walk past a damaged building on the corner of Edgeware Road and Barbadoes Street. Parts of the brick facade have collapsed, and the building is cordoned off with road cones and police tape.
Damage to the Repertory Theatre building. Part of the facade has collapsed onto the awning below, and bricks and masonry have spilled across the street. The building is cordoned off with road cones and police tape.
A photograph of a earthquake-damaged building on the corner of Tuam and High Streets. The outer-corner of the wall has collapsed leaving the inside of the building exposed.
A photograph of earthquake damage to the Crown Masonic Lodge on Wordsworth Street, also known as the Freemasons Centre. The entranceway is supported with wooden bracing, and part of the brick wall beside the entrance has collapsed.
Page 8 of Section C of the Christchurch Press, published on Saturday 28 January 2012.
Page 14 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Wednesday 2 March 2011.
Page 5 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Thursday 24 February 2011.
Page 4 of Section C of the Christchurch Press, published on Saturday 9 April 2011.
Page 5 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Wednesday 9 March 2011.
I could have sworn the street lamposts were vertical on Friday 3 September 2010! Magnitude 7 earthquake in Christchurch on Saturday 4-9-2010.