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Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of workers searching for survivors in the collapsed stores along Manchester Street shortly after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. An excavator can be seen helping to remove rubble from the site.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of workers searching for survivors in the collapsed stores along Manchester Street shortly after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. An excavator can be seen helping to remove rubble from the site.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

The Arts Centre photographed shortly after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. A large crack can be seen in the tower and part of the brickwork around the clock has collapsed onto the pavement below. Scaffolding was placed up against the building after the 4 September 2010 earthquake and the gable was braced with wooden planks. This probably limited the damage to this part of the building. The building has been cordoned off with tape reading, 'Danger keep out'. A sign in front of the door reads, 'Site closed'.

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

The rapid classification of building damage states or placards after an earthquake is vital for enabling an efficient emergency response and informed decision-making for rehabilitation and recovery purposes. Traditional methods rely heavily on inspector-led on-site surveys, which are often time-consuming, resource-intensive, and susceptible to human error. This study introduces a machine learning-supported surrogate model designed to streamline the assessment of building damage, focusing on the automated assignment of damage placards within the context of New Zealand's post-earthquake evaluation frameworks. The study evaluates two key safety evaluation protocols—Rapid Building Assessment (RBA) and Detailed Damage Evaluation (DDE)—and integrates corresponding databases derived from the 2010–2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) in Christchurch. Six ML classifiers—Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN), Gradient Boosting Classifier (GBC), and Gradient Bagging (GBag)—were rigorously tested across both databases. The results indicate that the RF-based surrogate model outperforms the other classifiers across both RBA and DDE protocols. Two distinct sets of critical predictors have been further identified for each protocol, allowing for the rapid retrieval of essential data for future on-site surveys, while retaining the RF model's predictive accuracy. The developed surrogate model provides a pragmatic tool for practising engineers to rapidly assign placards to damaged structures and for policymakers and building owners to make informed recovery decisions for earthquake-affected buildings.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of members of the public walking along Gloucester Street near the Colombo Street intersection. In the background, the site of the demolished Farmers Building can be seen as well as the car park to the left.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

An aerial photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Victoria Square is at the centre of this picture with its green lawns and trees. The bare patch of earth in front s the demolition sites of the Allan McLean building, the Oxford on Avon, and Plunket House. The contract to demolish the Crowne Plaza Hotel has been let, while the fate of the Town Hall is still undecided. The Convention Centre is coming down. On the very bottom, slightly to the right is the Medlab building which is also to be demolished. In the bottom left corner is the PWC building which is also to be demolished".