As the first of a series of Government earthquake buy-out offers approach their deadline, some home-owners in Christchurch's residential red zone are pleading for more time.
A video of stills of Christchurch in 2009. The video highlights the heritage buildings and architecture which has been damaged or lost since the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
Page 3 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Thursday 6 September 2012.
A contractor with a roller stands in an enormous hole, and shouts up to a family standing at the top that it's now ready to be built on. Refers to efforts to compact soil in Christchurch to prevent further liquefaction following the Canterbury earthquakes. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The September and February earthquakes were terrifying and devastating. In February, 185 people were killed (this number excludes post earthquake related deaths) and several thousand injured. Damage to infrastructure above and below ground in and around Christchurch was widespread and it will take many years and billions of dollars to rebuild. The ongoing effects of the big quakes and aftershocks are numerous, with the deepest impact being on those who lost family and friends, their livelihoods and homes. What did Cantabrians do during the days, weeks and months of uncertainty and how have we responded? Many grieved, some left, some stayed, some arrived, many shovelled (liquefaction left thousands of tons of silt to be removed from homes and streets), and some used their expertise or knowledge to help in the recovery. This book highlights just some of the projects staff and students from The Faculty of Environment, Society and Design have been involved in from September 2010 to October 2012. The work is ongoing and the plan is to publish another book to document progress and new projects.
Following the 22 February 2011, MW 6.2 earthquake located on a fault beneath the Port Hills of Christchurch, fissuring of up to several hundred metres in length was observed in the loess and loess-colluvium of foot-slope positions in north-facing valleys of the Port Hills. The fissuring was observed in all major valleys, occurred at similar low altitudes, showing a contour-parallel orientation and often accompanied by both lateral compression/extension features and spring formation in the valley floor below. Fissuring locations studied in depth included Bowenvale Valley, Hillsborough Valley, Huntlywood Terrace–Lucas Lane, Bridle Path Road, and Maffeys Road–La Costa Lane. Investigations into loess soil, its properties and mannerisms, as well as international examples of its failure were undertaken, including study of the Loess Plateau of China, the Teton Dam, and palaeo-fissuring on Banks Peninsula. These investigations lead to the conclusion that loess has the propensity to fail, often due to the infiltration of water, the presence of which can lead to its instantaneous disaggregation. Literature study and laboratory analysis of Port Hills loess concluded that is has the ability to be stable in steep, sub-vertical escarpments, and often has a sub-vertically jointed internal structure and has a peak shear strength when dry. Values for cohesion, c (kPa) and the internal friction angle, ϕ (degrees) of Port Hills loess were established. The c values for the 40 Rapaki Road, 3 Glenview Terrace loess samples were 13.4 kPa and 19.7 kPa, respectively. The corresponding ϕ values were thought unusually high, at 42.0° and 43.4°.The analysed loess behaved very plastically, with little or no peak strength visible in the plots as the test went almost directly to residual strength. A geophysics resistivity survey showed an area of low resistivity which likely corresponds to a zone of saturated clayey loess/loess colluvium, indicating a high water table in the area. This is consistent with the appearances of local springs which are located towards the northern end of each distinct section of fissure trace and chemical analysis shows that they are sourced from the Port Hills volcanics. Port Hills fissuring may be sub-divided into three categories, Category A, Category B, and Category C, each characterised by distinctive features of the fissures. Category A includes fissures which display evidence of, spring formation, tunnel-gullying, and lateral spreading-like behaviour or quasi-toppling. These fissures are several metres down-slope of the loess-bedrock interface, and are in valleys containing a loess-colluvium fill. Category B fissures are in wider valleys than those in Category A, and the valleys contain estuarine silty sediments which liquefied during the earthquake. Category C fissures occurred at higher elevations than the fissures in the preceding categories, being almost coincident with bedrock outcropping. It is believed that the mechanism responsible for causing the fissuring is a complex combination of three mechanisms: the trampoline effect, bedrock fracturing, and lateral spreading. These three mechanisms can be applied in varying degrees to each of the fissuring sites in categories A, B, and C, in order to provide explanation for the observations made at each. Toppling failure can describe the soil movement as a consequence of the a three causative mechanisms, and provides insight into the movement of the loess. Intra-loess water coursing and tunnel gullying is thought to have encouraged and exacerbated the fissuring, while not being the driving force per se. Incipient landsliding is considered to be the least likely of the possible fissuring interpretations.
The Cranmer Court demolition started today in Christchurch. The 1876 building was originally a Normal School and was in a derelict state in the early 1980s when it was rescued and converted into apartments. The heritage-listed building was red-stickered after the February 2011 earthquake.
The topic of ‘resilience’ thinking seems of late to have superseded that of ‘sustainability’ thinking. Sustainability means simply that which sustains and lasts but has taken on many different subtle nuances over the last 20 years since it came into common parlance with the Bruntland Report of 1987, which sought to clarify the definition. However, resilience ‘speak’ has become hot property now, especially highlighted since Christchurch experienced a natural disaster in the form of several large earthquakes from Sep 2010 until most recently in December 2011. Many people comment on how resilient people have been, how resilient the city has been, so it seems timely to investigate what resilience actually means and importantly, resilient to what and of what? (Lorenz, 2010). This essay will look at the concept of systems and resilience, definitions and theories will be explored generally and then these concepts will be more closely defined within the context of a particular system, that of Somerfield School located in the western suburbs of Christchurch.
Shows a couple (representing the suburbs) under a large blue umbrella (representing the Christchurch Blueprint) in a rain storm. Refers to the blueprint for central Christchurch developed by the Christchurch Central Development Unit, which was unveiled on 30 July 2012. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Shows rain falling over two gondolas of people floating past flooded Christchurch damaged houses. One person points to people in balaclavas climbing over the houses and calls out 'And look...the wildlife's returning!'. Context: Heavy rain and flooding hit Christchurch suburbs, including earthquake damaged homes (Newstalk website 14 August 2012). At the same time, wildlife (possums and rare birds) are moving into abandoned suburbs (Stuff 13 August 2012) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
A lawyer for the husband of a woman who died in the Christchurch earthquake says a coming inquest will show rifts within the Fire Service did hamper rescue efforts.
Radio NZ's Vicki McKay among those honoured at an awards ceremony in Christchurch for heroism, service or acts of kindness by organisations and individuals during the Canterbury earthquakes.
For the first time the man whose firm designed the CTV building has apologised to the families of the 115 people killed when it collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake.
A photograph looking east down Worcester Street from the Christchurch Arts Centre. In the distance, the earthquake-damaged Christ Church Cathedral can be seen, with a crane in front.
Martin van Beynen is an award-winning journalist with the Christchurch newspaper The Press. His book, 'Trapped: Remarkable Stories of Survival from the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake' documents the experiences of 23 survivors.
Christchurch carpenter Chris Nutfield rescued three women from the collapsed PGC building. He's one of the many to receive a bravery and heroism award one year after the February 2011 earthquake.
For the first time Alan Reay, whose firm designed the collapsed CTV building, has apologised to the families of the 115 people killed in the Christchurch earthquake 18 months ago.
A bunch of yellow, red and orange artificial fabric lilies tied together with green mesh fabric, purple flower paper and a golden ribbon and pink metallic string.
Page 2 of Section A of the Christchurch Press, published on Tuesday 26 June 2012.
A PDF copy of The Star newspaper, published on Friday 13 July 2012.
Shows Bishop Victoria Matthews reading a brochure offering cheap deals for cathedrals and their various accoutrements. Context: refers to the debate about the fate of the Christchurch Cathedral. Bishop Victoria Matthews is in favour of demolishing the cathedral to a certain safe level. The lobby for saving the cathedral, wrecked by the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, is very strong. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The cartoon shows a camping ground full of tents and caravans and people looking glum as the rain pours down. All except one family who laugh and enjoy themselves in spite of the weather - it is because they are from Christchurch and the weather is of no consequence when they can live for a few days without fear of earthquakes. Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
A video of a CERA press conference unveiling the 100-day blueprint produced by the Christchurch Central Development Unit (CCDU). The video includes presentations by Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Warwick Isaacs, the Director of the CCDU. Brownlee and Isaacs announce the acquisition of properties within the central city, and the creation of a green space bordering the central city. They also announce the building of a convention centre, stadium, and sports facility.
A notice on the fence outside the CTV site on Madras Street. The notice reads, "Please respect this site. In recognition of the special significance this site holds for the people of our city and all those affected by the earthquakes, the Christchurch City Council is working with Canterbury Museum to preserve aspects of our remembering. Tributes may be left at this site. Older tributes will be removed for archiving by the Canterbury Museum to become part of the city's memory of the Canterbury Earthquakes. Organic materials will be composted and used in the city's gardens. Canterbury Museum. Christchurch City Council".
An video recording of Rev Darryl Tempero's interview for the Church in the Quakes Project. The interview was conducted by Melissa Parsons on 3 October 2012. At the time, Darryl Tempero was a Minister at Hope Presbyterian Hornby, the Presbyterian Earthquake Coordinator, and the Co-Chair of Christchurch Post Earthquake Churches' Forum.
An audio recording of Rev Darryl Tempero's interview for the Church in the Quakes Project. The interview was conducted by Melissa Parsons on 3 October 2012. At the time, Darryl Tempero was a Minister at Hope Presbyterian Hornby, the Presbyterian Earthquake Coordinator, and the Co-Chair of Christchurch Post Earthquake Churches' Forum.
A video of a press conference with Bishop Victoria Matthews in the Botanic Gardens about the plans for the earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral. Matthews announces that the cathedral will be deconstructed, allowing the safe retrieval of taonga and heritage items within the building.
The family of a Christchurch earthquake victim wants the Royal Commission to investigate all Search and Rescue efforts during the disaster. The Government faces a higher-than-forecast Budget deficit.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, is offside with the business community in Christchurch over the decision to permanently relocate nearly 500 public servants outside of the central business district.
A group of angry Christchurch locals are considering legal action against one of the country's biggest insurance companies because they say their earthquake claims are taking too long to settle.