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Images, Alexander Turnbull Library

The South Island is depicted as a punch bag which is reeling with the punishment inflicted after having been practised on by 'blizzards', 'earthquakes', 'disasters' and now 'drought'. Context; the Christchurch earthquake of 4 October and the Pike River Mine disaster of 19 November as well as some fairly extreme weather. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a keynote presentation by Professor Jonathan Davidson during the fifth plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "Resilience in People".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: Resilience is the ability to bounce back or adapt successfully in the face of change, and is present to varying degrees in everybody. For at least 50 years resilience has been a topic of study in medical research, with a marked increase occurring in the past decade. In this presentation the essential features of resilience will be defined. Among the determining or mediating factors are neurobiological pathways, genetic characteristics, temperament, and environment events, all of which will be summarized. Adversity, assets, and adjustment need to be taken into account when assessing resilience. Different approaches to measuring the construct include self-rating scales which evaluate: traits and copying, responses to stress, symptom ratings after exposure to actual adversity, behavioural measures in response to a stress, e.g. Trier Test, and biological measures in response to stress. Examples will be provided. Resilience can be a determinant of health outcome, e.g. for coronary heart disease, acute coronary syndrome, diabetes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive status and successful aging. Total score and individual item levels of resilience predict response to dug and psychotherapy in post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that resilience is modifiable. Different treatments and interventions can increase resilience in a matter of weeks, and with an effect size larger than the effect size found for the same treatments on symptoms of illness. There are many ways to enhance resilience, ranging from 'Outward Bound' to mindfulness-based meditation/stress reduction to wellbeing therapy and antidepressant drugs. Treatments that reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety recruit resiliency processes at the same time. Examples will be given.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Background: We are in a period of history where natural disasters are increasing in both frequency and severity. They are having widespread impacts on communities, especially on vulnerable communities, those most affected who have the least ability to prepare or respond to a disaster. The ability to assemble and effectively manage Interagency Emergency Response Teams (IERTs) is critical to navigating the complexity and chaos found immediately following disasters. These teams play a crucial role in the multi-sectoral, multi-agency, multi-disciplinary, and inter-organisational response and are vital to ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable populations such as the young, aged, and socially and medically disadvantaged in disasters. Communication is key to the smooth operation of these teams. Most studies of the communication in IERTs during a disaster have been focussed at a macro-level of examining larger scale patterns and trends within organisations. Rarely found are micro-level analyses of interpersonal communication at the critical interfaces between collaborating agencies. This study set out to understand the experiences of those working at the interagency interfaces in an IERT set up by the Canterbury District Health Board to respond to the needs of the vulnerable people in the aftermath of the destructive earthquakes that hit Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2010-11. The aim of the study was to gain insights about the complexities of interpersonal communication (micro-level) involved in interagency response coordination and to generate an improved understanding into what stabilises the interagency communication interfaces between those agencies responding to a major disaster. Methods: A qualitative case study research design was employed to investigate how interagency communication interfaces were stabilised at the micro-level (“the case”) in the aftermath of the destructive earthquakes that hit Canterbury in 2010-11 (“the context”). Participant recruitment was undertaken by mapping which agencies were involved within the IERT and approaching representatives from each of these agencies. Data was collected via individual interviews using a semi-structured interview guide and was based on the “Critical Incident Technique”. Subsequently, data was transcribed verbatim and subjected to inductive analysis. This was underpinned theoretically by Weick’s “Interpretive Approach” and supported by Nvivo qualitative data analysis software. Results: 19 participants were interviewed in this study. Out of the inductive analysis emerged two primary themes, each with several sub-factors. The first major theme was destabilising/disruptive factors of interagency communication with five sub-factors, a) conflicting role mandates, b) rigid command structures, c) disruption of established communication structures, d) lack of shared language and understanding, and e) situational awareness disruption. The second major theme stabilising/steadying factors in interagency communication had four sub-factors, a) the establishment of the IERT, b) emergent novel communication strategies, c) establishment of a liaison role and d) pre-existing networks and relationships. Finally, there was a third sub-level identified during inductive analysis, where sub-factors from both primary themes were noted to be uniquely interconnected by emergent “consequences” arising out of the disaster context. Finally, findings were synthesised into a conceptual “Model of Interagency Communication at the Micro-level” based on this case study of the Canterbury earthquake disaster response. Discussion: The three key dimensions of The People, The Connections and The Improvisations served as a framework for the discussion of what stabilises interagency communication interfaces in a major disaster. The People were key to stabilising the interagency interfaces through functioning as a flexible conduit, guiding and navigating communication at the interagency interfaces and improving situational awareness. The Connections provided the collective competence, shared decision-making and prior established relationships that stabilised the micro-level communication at interagency interfaces. And finally, The Improvisations i.e., novel ideas and inventiveness that emerge out of rapidly changing post-disaster environments, also contributed to stabilisation of micro-level communication flows across interagency interfaces in the disaster response. “Command and control” hierarchical structures do provide clear processes and structures for teams working in disasters to follow. However, improvisations and novel solutions are also needed and often emerge from first responders (who are best placed to assess the evolving needs in a disaster where there is a high degree of uncertainty). Conclusion: This study highlights the value of incorporating an interface perspective into any study that seeks to understand the processes of IERTs during disaster responses. It also strengthens the requirement for disaster management frameworks to formally plan for and to allow for the adaptive responsiveness of local teams on the ground, and legitimise and recognise the improvisations of those in the role of emergent boundary spanners in a disaster response. This needs to be in addition to existing formal disaster response mechanisms. This study provides a new conceptual model that can be used to guide future case studies exploring stability at the interfaces of other IERTs and highlights the centrality of communication in the experiences of members of teams in the aftermath of a disaster. Utilising these new perspectives on stabilising communication at the interagency interfaces in disaster responses will have practical implications in the future to better serve the needs of vulnerable people who are at greatest risk of adverse outcomes in a disaster.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Deep shear wave velocity (Vs) profiles (>400 m) were developed at 14 sites throughout Christchurch, New Zealand using surface wave methods. This paper focuses on the inversion of surface wave data collected at one of these sites, Hagley Park. This site is located on the deep soils of the Canterbury Plains, which consist of alluvial gravels inter-bedded with estuarine and marine sands, silts, clays and peats. Consequently, significant velocity contrasts exist at the interface between geologic formations. In order to develop realistic velocity models in this complex geologic environment, a-priori geotechnical and geologic data were used to identify the boundaries between geologic formations. This information aided in developing the layering for the inversion parameters. Moreover, empirical reference Vs profiles based on material type and confining pressure were used to develop realistic Vs ranges for each layer. Both the a-priori layering information and the reference Vs curves proved to be instrumental in generating realistic velocity models that account for the complex inter-bedded geology in the Canterbury Plains.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The magnitude 6.2 Christchurch earthquake struck the city of Christchurch at 12:51pm on February 22, 2011. The earthquake caused 186 fatalities, a large number of injuries, and resulted in widespread damage to the built environment, including significant disruption to lifeline networks and health care facilities. Critical facilities, such as public and private hospitals, government, non-government and private emergency services, physicians’ offices, clinics and others were severely impacted by this seismic event. Despite these challenges many systems were able to adapt and cope. This thesis presents the physical and functional impact of the Christchurch earthquake on the regional public healthcare system by analysing how it adapted to respond to the emergency and continued to provide health services. Firstly, it assesses the seismic performance of the facilities, mechanical and medical equipment, building contents, internal services and back-up resources. Secondly, it investigates the reduction of functionality for clinical and non-clinical services, induced by the structural and non-structural damage. Thirdly it assesses the impact on single facilities and the redundancy of the health system as a whole following damage to the road, power, water, and wastewater networks. Finally, it assesses the healthcare network's ability to operate under reduced and surged conditions. The effectiveness of a variety of seismic vulnerability preparedness and reduction methods are critically reviewed by comparing the observed performances with the predicted outcomes of the seismic vulnerability and disaster preparedness models. Original methodology is proposed in the thesis which was generated by adapting and building on existing methods. The methodology can be used to predict the geographical distribution of functional loss, the residual capacity and the patient transfer travel time for hospital networks following earthquakes. The methodology is used to define the factors which contributed to the overall resilence of the Canterbury hospital network and the areas which decreased the resilence. The results show that the factors which contributed to the resilence, as well as the factors which caused damage and functionality loss were difficult to foresee and plan for. The non-structural damage to utilities and suspended ceilings was far more disruptive to the provision of healthcare than the minor structural damage to buildings. The physical damage to the healthcare network reduced the capacity, which has further strained a health care system already under pressure. Providing the already high rate of occupancy prior to the Christchurch earthquake the Canterbury healthcare network has still provided adequate healthcare to the community.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

A city’s planted trees, the great majority of which are in private gardens, play a fundamental role in shaping a city’s wild ecology, ecosystem functioning, and ecosystem services. However, studying tree diversity across a city’s many thousands of separate private gardens is logistically challenging. After the disastrous 2010–2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, over 7,000 homes were abandoned and a botanical survey of these gardens was contracted by the Government’s Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) prior to buildings being demolished. This unprecedented access to private gardens across the 443.9 hectares ‘Residential Red Zone’ area of eastern Christchurch is a unique opportunity to explore the composition of trees in private gardens across a large area of a New Zealand city. We analysed these survey data to describe the effects of housing age, socio-economics, human population density, and general soil quality, on tree abundance, species richness, and the proportion of indigenous and exotic species. We found that while most of the tree species were exotic, about half of the individual trees were local native species. There is an increasing realisation of the native tree species values among Christchurch citizens and gardens in more recent areas of housing had a higher proportion of smaller/younger native trees. However, the same sites had proportionately more exotic trees, by species and individuals, amongst their larger planted trees than older areas of housing. The majority of the species, and individuals, of the larger (≥10 cm DBH) trees planted in gardens still tend to be exotic species. In newer suburbs, gardens in wealthy areas had more native trees than gardens from poorer areas, while in older suburbs, poorer areas had more native big trees than wealthy areas. In combination, these describe, in detail unparalleled for at least in New Zealand, how the tree infrastructure of the city varies in space and time. This lays the groundwork for better understanding of how wildlife distribution and abundance, wild plant regeneration, and ecosystem services, are affected by the city’s trees.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch couple in a long running dispute over the insurance payout for their earthquake damaged home have reached an out-of-court settlement with Southern Response. The class action was brought on behalf of former AMI Insurance/Southern Response policyholders who believe the company misled them into settling their claims for less than their policies entitled them to. The lawyer for Brendan and Colleen Ross, Grant Cameron, talks to Max Towle about the settlement.  

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Labour Party leader Phil Goff speaking to members of the Student Volunteer Army in the UCSA car park outside the UCSA's "Big Top" tent. The tent was erected to provide support for students at the University of Canterbury in the aftermath of the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Behind them members of the Student Volunteer Army are assembling wheelbarrows which will be used to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Damaged buildings along London Street. Wire fencing has been used to keep people away. From the left are the Volcano Cafe, the Lava Bar, a fish and chip shop, and the Coastal Living Design Store. Rubble from the side of the Volcano Cafe can be seen along the Canterbury Street footpath.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

An image from an Army News March 2011 article titled, "A Helping Hand in a Disaster Zone". The image is of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Barbadoes Street, severely damaged after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The domes on either side of the Cathedral have collapsed and are lying in the area in front.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A night-time photograph of the Cranmer Court building on the corner of Kilmore and Montreal Streets. The building has been lit up from below. The octagonal section on the corner of the building was the part occupied by Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009. Although designed to house a book depot, this section was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A black and white, night-time photograph of the Cranmer Court building on the corner of Kilmore and Montreal Streets. The building has been lit up from below. The octagonal section on the corner of the building was the part occupied by Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009. Although designed to house a book depot, this section was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A collection of shovels from the Student Volunteer Army in the car park of the USCA. The shovels have been returned by students after a day of clearing liquefaction from Christchurch properties. Behind them the UCSA's "Big Top" tent can be seen, which was erected to provide support for students at the University of Canterbury in the aftermath of the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Shoppers and tourists in the Re:Start mall. The photographer comments, "The new temporary city mall has been open in Christchurch now for a week. Buildings damaged in the earthquake have been demolished and replaced with cargo containers to create a new, temporary, Cashel Mall. I visited the mall yesterday and was quite impressed with what they have done. The cargo containers have been nicely converted, brightly painted and smartly branded to create some good looking stores".

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Topics - Hundreds of people have lost their lives in Egypt overnight, and it's expected the death toll will continue to rise. This comes after the military over threw the democratically elected leader last month, and has now forcibly closed down protester camps. Power company Orion - owned by Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council - is looking to hike its prices until 2019, to help recover revenue lost because of the Canterbury earthquakes.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Christchurch City Council has confirmed the demolition of the earthquake-damaged Lancaster Park sports stadium will begin this year. Lancaster Park Cricket club was one of the sports ground's first tenants when it was established in 1881. An act of parliament means the ground has to be used for sport and recreation. "We're certainly looking foward to being able to get back on the ground and for it to be turned back into green space," Ric Horsfall from the cricket club says.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Topics - appalling stories of Christchurch families living in garages and tents - even a couple renting a wash-house - are continuing to surface almost two years on from the February 2011 earthquake. Youth crime is described as "steadily falling" in New Zealand, with rates of police apprehensions and prosecutions of young people at record lows. Auckland Grammar has employed the services of a private investigator to check on parents trying to cheat on school zone boundaries.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

In quake-ravaged Christchurch businesses are tentatively restarting, and infrastructure is being restored, but there's ongoing uncertainty about job losses and how people will survive financially. Within six days of the February earthquake; the Government had introduced a subsidy scheme for businesses and their employees, as well as people who'd found themselves out of a job. Now there's growing disquiet about what will happen to thousands of Cantabrians when that support scheme finishes at the end of May.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Thousands of Christchurch refugees have poured into Timaru since the earthquake on February 22, boosting its population by nearly 20 per cent. Social services are giving out hundreds of food parcels, blankets, toiletries and clothes every day as well as finding accommodation for people who have turned up in town with nothing. Major Dean Herring of the Salvation Army in Timaru has been helping evacuees find places to live as well as dealing with the huge piles of donated goods.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Week In Review for week ending 12 August 2011... featuring a new rebuild plan for Christchurch's earthquake ravaged CBD, problems at the Waikato-Tainui Tribal Parliament, a pricing fiasco surrounding the Adidas All Blacks Rugby World Cup jersey, the Mana party confirms it will contest all seven Maori seats and some general seats in November's general election, the renaming of Mt Cook's South Ridge to The Hillary Ridge and the White Mouse passes away.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Sam Harvey says that holding on to grace is one of the things that keeps him striving towards his calling to help others. He's a young pastor of the Beach Campus of Grace Vineyard Church in Christchurch, and moved to the city on the eve of the first earthquake. Sonia Sly finds out what it takes to adhere to the faith during difficult times, and candidly asks about God's voice, New Zealand's attitude to Christianity, and the process of healing through exorcism.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Our Christchurch correspondent, Katy Gosset takes us on a musical journey with the help of one of the city's longest serving pianists. For 23 years Peter Lewis played the piano in the Crowne Plaza Hotel before being made redundant by the February 2011 earthquake. Peter has since struggled to find a way to share his music with others. Today Katy seeks out some city pianos and takes him on a mystery tour to rediscover the pleasure of playing.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Ang Jury of Womens' Refuge talks about the announced changes to family violence law and if the government's got it right. Labour's Andrew Little "rejected" yesterday's One News Colmar Brunton Poll so the party released its own results today. Bruce Springsteen has announced dates for a New Zealand tour including a concert in Christchurch for the anniversary of the February 2011 earthquake. Your feedback about the long hours hospital doctors work.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Today RNZ's Midday supervising producer, Denise Garland, looks at two brand new podcasts. Collapse is a podcast from Stuff, all about the Christchurch earthquakes in the lead up the to 10th anniversary of the devastating quake on February 22nd. She also looks at NZ Wars - Stories of Tainui from RNZ which over the three episodes covers the war of Waikato in the 1860s, the great war for New Zealand, a defining conflict of New Zealand.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The Aromaunga Baxters Flowers nursery in Heathcote, Christchurch sits right above the point where the earthquake struck on 22 February 2011. The greenhouses on the steep slopes of the Port Hills, as well as a big old villa and other brick buildings were badly damaged. Ten years on co-owner John Baxter says the earthquake damage is still being repaired, but sales have been boosted by a lack of imported flowers due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A night-time photograph of the Cranmer Court building on the corner of Kilmore and Montreal Streets. The building has been lit up from below. The octagonal section on the corner of the building was the part occupied by Plato Creative from March 2008 to November 2009. Although designed to house a book depot, this section was used as the principal's office while Christchurch Normal School was operating from the building.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Red Cross aid worker Rosemarie North is in the Banten province of Java where authorities have lifted the alert level for the Anak Krakatau volcano to its second-highest level. She has worked on and off for the Red Cross since 2003 in all kinds of situations, including post-conflict in Sierra Leone, landslides in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, refugee camps in Chad, earthquakes in Nepal and Christchurch, and tsunamis in Southeast Asia and Samoa. [image_crop:72149:full]

Audio, Radio New Zealand

It's been a long road to recovery for one of Christchurch's biggest post-quake projects. Eight years after the route connecting Sumner to Lyttleton was blocked off by the earthquakes, the road through Evans Pass will reopen on Friday. Sumner residents will now have a second route into the suburb, as well as a renewed connection to Lyttleton. Sara Templeton is the councillor for Heathcote Ward, which covers Sumner, and speaks to Guyon Espiner.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Australia's controversial offshore detention regime hits a massive stumbling block; Fiji's parliament votes against reinstating the Great Council of Chiefs; Stalemate over probe into high profile PNG fraud case; Pacific thinking about collective action over long line fishing; Lessons from the Christchurch earthquakes used to heal in Fiji; CNMI school group to challenge court gun ruling; Secret to Pacific growth in its growing working age population; Fiji disappointed after Radradra picked for Australia.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Pupils at South School had a loud shirt day to help raise money for Christchurch earthquake victims. Pictured from left at far back are Jihye Kang, Bradley Messer, Nick Frame, Cody Harford, Miss White, Amber Henderson, Geneva Hatata and Rose Bransgrove. Middle row from left: Jack Ridgway, Miss Sidaway, Eleanor Woodnorth and Tory Simpson. At the front are Maggie Bransgrove and Jordan Murray".