An earthquake engineer says designing buildings to resist earthquakes is as much an art as it is a science and you can never make a structure completely quake-proof.
The Government is considering introducing a state of emergency after a series of powerful earthquakes in Christchurch this afternoon.
The Student Volunteer Army (SVA) are pulling together their troops to assist in the Canterbury clean-up . SVA chief executive Sam Johnson has been putting out the call to arms. He says it's time to help the region's farmers who helped Christchurch after the earthquakes. Sam Johnson spoke to Susie Ferguson.
In the hours after the February 2011 Canterbury earthquake, Chessie Henry's father Chris Henry, a Kaikoura-based doctor, crawled into makeshift tunnels in the collapsed CTV building to rescue the living and look for the dead. Six years later, Chessie interviewed Chris in an attempt to understand the trauma that lead her father to burnout. In her book just published, We Can Make A Life: A memoir of family, earthquakes and courage, Chessie Henry considers the psychological cost of heroism and unravels stories and memories from her family history.
Tomorrow will mark four years since a huge 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked North Canterbury. As well as severely damaging homes and roads, it left some hill country farms in the area with up to 40 percent of their land unusable. Four years on, sheep and beef farmers are finding new ways to work. Rural reporter, Maja Burry and cameraman Nate McKinnon have the story.
David discusses the latest news in North Canterbury including updates on the earthquake damaged Glen Alton bridge funding, calls for a local driving licence test route in Kaikoura, reactions from local mayors on the government's bid to get young people off a jobseekers benefit, and there have been reports of dog attacks on little penguins along Kaikoura's coastline. David Hill is a Local Democracy Reporter with North Canterbury News, based in Rangiora.
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.
Text reads 'Canterbury lamb...' and the cartoon shows a slavering wolf that represents 'earthquake' dressed in 'lamb's clothing' and prowling in the night among other sheep. Context - The saying 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' that suggests something sinister sheltering behind something benign. Refers to the devastating Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. A third very damaging earthquake occured on 13th June 2011. 'Canterbury lamb' is well-known as a favourite meat overseas. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A man reads a newspaper with a headline 'Aftershocks'. His wife thinks it refers to the Canterbury earthquake of 4th September but it actually refers to the implosion of the ACT Party. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The Mѡ=7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake struck on 4 September 2010, approximately 45 km west of Christchurch, New Zealand. It revealed a previously unknown fault (the Greendale fault) and caused billions of dollars of damage due to high peak ground velocities and extensive liquefaction. It also triggered the Mw=6.3 Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011, which caused further damage and the loss of 185 lives. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between stress and seismic properties in a seismically active region using manually-picked P and S wave arrival times from the aftershock sequence between 8 September 2010-13 January 2011 to estimate shear-wave splitting (SWS) parameters, VP =VS-ratios, anisotropy (delay-time tomography), focal mechanisms, and tectonic stress on the Canterbury plains. The maximum horizontal stress direction was highly consistent in the plains, with an average value of SHmax=116 18 . However, the estimates showed variation in SHmax near the fault, with one estimate rotating by as much as 30° counter-clockwise. This suggests heterogeneity of stress at the fault, though the cause remains unclear. Orientations of the principal stresses predominantly indicate a strike-slip regime, but there are possible thrust regimes to the west and north/east of the fault. The SWS fast directions (ø) on the plains show alignment with SHmax at the majority of stations, indicating stress controlled anisotropy. However, structural effects appear more dominant in the neighbouring regions of the Southern Alps and Banks Peninsula.
A PDF copy of a news item from the union.org.nz website, titled, "Canterbury Workers Need More Support". The article was written by Peter Conway, CTU Secretary, and Marty Braithwaite, CTU Earthquake Response Coordinator.
A presentation by Associate Professor John Vargo (Department of Accounting and Information Systems, and Resilient Organisations Research Group) on "Organisational Resilience in Canterbury: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow".
Map of the Law car park with numbered tents.
Map of the Arts car park with tents and infrastructure.
A magnitude six earthquake which struck in Canterbury just before quarter-past-nine Wednesday morning has left some nearby residents feeling a bit shaken. The quake, which struck 45 kilometres north of Geraldine at a depth of ten kilometres, was located in the Southern Alps, away from populated areas. It was widely felt in Geraldine, Timaru and Temuka - though there are no reports of serious damage or injury. Timaru District Council says it's closing a stadium and other facilities for assessment. Two people who experienced the quake, Janene Adams who's deputy chair of the Geraldine Community Board, and from further north, and the operator of the Mount Somers Holiday Park, Maureen Meanwell, spoke with Charlotte Cook
The most beautiful quadrangles lead to the Botany and Physics Department and Observatory of the Canterbury College, University of New Zealand in 1919. In 1873 the Provincial Council passed the Cant…
Information on the Earthquake Commission and how to prepare for earthquakes and other natural disasters such as tsunami, landslips, volcanic eruptions and hydrothermal activity.
Blog of Christchurch poet Catherine Fitchett. Includes her thoughts about poetry and life, and photographs, including the Christchurch earthquake.
Commemorates 1 year after the Christchurch Earthquake. In the Press newspaper section of the Fairfax New Zealand Stuff.co.nz news site.
An infographic showing the causes of the CTV building collapse.
A super council, along the lines of Auckland city could be on the cards in Canterbury, but not until the earthquake recovery is well underway.
An emergency Cabinet Meeting is being held at Parliament as reports begin to come in of the damage in Canterbury caused by this afternoon's earthquake.
The owners of more than three-thousand properties damaged by the Canterbury earthquake have been told the repair job could take nearly three years.
Economists and business leaders predict the Canterbury earthquake will lead to a rash of business failures and cut economic growth this year.
A photograph of the damage to the slate roof of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers Buildings on Durham Street.
Building Record Form for the former Canterbury Public Library, 1870s section, 109 Cambridge Terrace, Christchurch
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A photograph of the damage to the slate roof of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers Buildings on Durham Street.
An aerial photograph of the earthquake damage to a window of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers Buildings on Durham Street.
An aerial photograph of the earthquake damage to a window of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers Buildings on Durham Street.