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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.

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

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.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the potato stamps which were created by Jen McBride for Gap Filler's Have a Steak in Your City project. The potato stamps were used to create the poster for the event and to decorate the paper napkins which people used to eat their steak. A number of these paper napkins are in the background of the photograph.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Police prosecutor jailed for dealing drugs;Sharebrokers getting late rush of MRP investors;Pressure mounts on MP Aaron Gilmore;Police rule out anyone else being at risk;Mother of electrocuted son is pleased that electricians been named and shamed;NZ Post signals to Government it will need to invest in KiwiBank in two years;Judge says young killer could have made something of himself;Elderly in Christchurch say they are low on priority list for earthquake repairs and payouts.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Fine grained sediment deposition in urban environments during natural hazard events can impact critical infrastructure and properties (urban terrain) leading to reduced social and economic function and potentially adverse public health effects. Therefore, clean-up of the sediments is required to minimise impacts and restore social and economic functionality as soon as possible. The strategies employed to manage and coordinate the clean-up significantly influence the speed, cost and quality of the clean-up operation. Additionally, the physical properties of the fine grained sediment affects the clean-up, transport, storage and future usage of the sediment. The goals of the research are to assess the resources, time and cost required for fine grained sediment clean-up in an urban environment following a disaster and to determine how the geotechnical properties of sediment will affect urban clean-up strategies. The thesis focuses on the impact of fine grained sediment (<1 mm) deposition from three liquefaction events during the Canterbury earthquake sequence (2010-2011) on residential suburbs and transport networks in Christchurch. It also presents how geotechnical properties of the material may affect clean-up strategies and methods by presenting geotechnical analysis of tephra material from the North Island of New Zealand. Finally, lessons for disaster response planning and decision making for clean-up of sediment in urban environments are presented. A series of semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders supported by relevant academic literature and media reports were used to record the clean-up operation coordination and management and to make a preliminary qualification of the Christchurch liquefaction ejecta clean-up (costs breakdown, time, volume, resources, coordination, planning and priorities). Further analysis of the costs and resources involved for better accuracy was required and so the analysis of Christchurch City Council road management database (RAMM) was done. In order to make a transition from general fine sediment clean-up to specific types of fine disaster sediment clean-up, adequate information about the material properties is required as they will define how the material will be handled, transported and stored. Laboratory analysis of young volcanic tephra from the New Zealand’s North Island was performed to identify their geotechnical properties (density, granulometry, plasticity, composition and angle of repose). The major findings of this research were that emergency planning and the use of the coordinated incident management system (CIMS) system during the emergency were important to facilitate rapid clean-up tasking, management of resources and ultimately recovery from widespread and voluminous liquefaction ejecta deposition in eastern Christchurch. A total estimated cost of approximately $NZ 40 million was calculated for the Christchurch City clean-up following the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence with a partial cost of $NZ 12 million for the Southern part of the city, where up to 33% (418 km) of the road network was impacted by liquefaction ejecta and required clearing of the material following the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Over 500,000 tonnes of ejecta has been stockpiled at Burwood landfill for all three liquefaction inducing earthquake events. The average cost per kilometre for the event clean-up was $NZ 5,500/km (4 September 2010), $NZ 11,650/km (22 February 2011) and $NZ 11,185/km (13 June 2011). The duration of clean-up time of residential properties and the road network was approximately two to three months for each of the three liquefaction ejecta events; despite events volumes and spatial distribution of ejecta. Interviews and quantitative analysis of RAMM data revealed that the experience and knowledge gained from the Darfield earthquake (4 September 2010) clean-up increased the efficiency of the following Christchurch earthquake induced liquefaction ejecta clean-up events. Density, particle size, particle shape, clay content and moisture content, are the important geotechnical properties that need to be considered when planning for a clean-up method that incorporates collection, transport and disposal or storage. The geotechnical properties for the tephra samples were analysed to increase preparedness and reaction response of potentially affected North Island cities from possible product from the active volcanoes in their region. The geotechnical results from this study show that volcanic tephra could be used in road or construction material but the properties would have to be further investigated for a New Zealand context. Using fresh volcanic material in road, building or flood control construction requires good understanding of the material properties and precaution during design and construction to extra care, but if well planned, it can be economically beneficial.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of an interview with Andy Cole, site supervisor at Geovert, about the procedure for blasting rocks in Hillsborough. The rock-blasting work was paid for by two Christchurch couples whose properties were red-zoned and red-stickered. The couples hope that the blasting work will encourage CERA to change their land zoning from red to green, allowing them to rebuild their homes on the same sites.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a tour of the Christchurch central city Red Zone. The video includes footage of the Design and Arts College Building, the Heritage Hotel, Cathedral Junction, the Octagon Live restaurant, Manchester Street, Hereford Street, Bedford Row, High Street, Lichfield Street, the Majestic Theatre, Colombo Street, Cashel Street, Just Jeans and Starbucks on Cashel Street, and Kilmore Street. It also includes footage of residents on a Red Zone bus tour.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video about the reopening of the trams in Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The video includes an interview with tram driver Brian Erikson. Erikson talks about taking a job at a supermarket while the trams were closed, and the feeling he gets when he drives the trams. The video also includes an interview with Syleyman Sekman, whose son, Jubiter Ubukata Sekman, could not sleep because he was so excited to ride the trams again.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

The "Tree of Hope" at the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. The photographer comments, "Luggage labels and pens were supplied, and people were encouraged to write a message of hope for Christchurch and tie it to the tree. Although the turn-out this year was just as big as last year's, there were not as many messages tied to the tree - perhaps we're all feeling less hopeful this year".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

People write messages for the "Tree of Hope" at the River of Flowers event held in Riccarton Bush, commemorating the second anniversary of the 22 February earthquake. The photographer comments, "Luggage labels and pens were supplied, and people were encouraged to write a message of hope for Christchurch and tie it to the tree. Although the turn-out this year was just as big as last year's, there were not as many messages tied to the tree - perhaps we're all feeling less hopeful this year".

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Topics - Would you like a pay rise of $10,000 a year? That's what the lowest paid Auckland Council staff will get if a plan to implement a minimum wage of $18.40 an hour goes through. The Insurance Council has received a briefing today after a report revealed hundreds of properties on Christchurch's Port Hills are on unsafe land. The GNS Science report released yesterday shows a major rain or snow storm could cause land already loosened by the earthquakes to move.

Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

The Canterbury earthquake series of 2010/2011 has turned the city of Christchurch into a full scale natural laboratory testing the structural and non-structural response of buildings under moderate to very severe earthquake shaking. The lessons learned from this, which have come at great cost socially and economically, are extremely valuable in increasing our understanding of whole building performance in severe earthquakes. Given current initiatives underway on both sides of the Tasman towards developing joint Australasian steel and composite steel/concrete design and construction standards that would span a very wide range of geological conditions and seismic zones, these lessons are relevant to both countries. This paper focusses on the performance of steel framed buildings in Christchurch city, with greatest emphasis on multi-storey buildings, but also covering single storey steel framed buildings and light steel framed housing. It addresses such issues as the magnitude and structural impact of the earthquake series, importance of good detailing, lack of observed column base hinging, the excellent performance of composite floors and it will briefly cover research underway to quantify some of these effects for use in design.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

The Canterbury region of New Zealand experienced four earthquakes greater than MW 6.0 between September 2010 and December 2011. This study employs system dynamics as well as hazard, recovery and organisational literature and brings together data collected via surveys, case studies and interviews with organisations affected by the earthquakes. This is to show how systemic interactions and interdependencies within and between industry and geographic sectors affect their recovery post-disaster. The industry sectors in the study are: construction for its role in the rebuild, information and communication technology which is a regional high-growth industry, trucking for logistics, critical infrastructure, fast moving consumer goods (e.g. supermarkets) and hospitality to track recovery through non-discretionary and discretionary spend respectively. Also in the study are three urban centres including the region’s largest Central Business District, which has been inaccessible since the earthquake of 22 February 2011 to the time of writing in February 2013. This work also highlights how earthquake effects propagated between sectors and how sectors collaborated to mitigate difficulties such as product demand instability. Other interacting factors are identified that influence the recovery trajectories of the different industry sectors. These are resource availability, insurance payments, aid from central government, and timely and quality recovery information. This work demonstrates that in recovering from disaster it is crucial for organisations to identify what interacting factors could affect their operations. Also of importance are efforts to reduce the organisation’s vulnerability and increase their resilience to future crises and in day-to-day operations. Lastly, the multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the recovery and resilience of organisations and industry sectors after disaster, leads to a better understanding of effects as well as more effective recovery policy.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

One in Five is in Christchurch to meet elderly residents in some of the areas worst hit by the earthquakes. In these suburbs, a series of exercise classes is providing a lifeline for locals who are increasingly confined to their immediate areas. The classes, which are run by Therapy Professionals for Arthritis New Zealand, offer improved mobility to those living with the condition but also companionship and support in a stressful time. Those taking part talked to Katy Gosset about aging with a disability and coping with life after the earthquakes.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

We're broadcasting today from Christchurch on the second anniversary of the six point three magnitude earthquake which devastated this city. One hundred and eighty five died in the quake and today at midday a memorial service will be held in Latimer Square. After two years, the pace of the rebuild is growing, but for some, so is frustration. More than seven thousand property owners in the residential red zone received a buyout offer from the government. Most of those have taken it - but there are a few who haven't.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A Waikato iwi authority says it's struggling to supply the Government with a list of sites of cultural significance; The Government says it is committed to boosting Maori literacy achievement from early childhood and primary school level so that the education system isn't having to catch up all the time; A Ngai Tahu owned South Island whale watching operation say it's excited to be named a finalist in an international tourism award; A multicultural marae has been recognised for its community work, including caring for refugees during the Christchurch earthquake.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A Waikato iwi authority says it's struggling to supply the Government with a list of sites of cultural significance; The Government says it is committed to boosting Maori literacy achievement from early childhood and primary school level so that the education system isn't having to catch up all the time; A multicultural marae has been recognised for its community work, including caring for refugees during the Christchurch earthquake; A Ngai Tahu owned South Island whale watching operation say it's excited to be named a finalist in an international tourism award.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

In the period between September 2010 and December 2011, Christchurch was shaken by a series of strong earthquakes including the MW7.1 4 September 2010, Mw 6.2 22 February 2011, MW6.2 13 June 2011 and MW6.0 23 December 2011 earthquakes. These earthquakes produced very strong ground motions throughout the city and surrounding areas that resulted in soil liquefaction and lateral spreading causing substantial damage to buildings, infrastructure and the community. The stopbank network along the Kaiapoi and Avon River suffered extensive damage with repairs projected to take several years to complete. This presented an opportunity to undertake a case-study on a regional scale of the effects of liquefaction on a stopbank system. Ultimately, this information can be used to determine simple performance-based concepts that can be applied in practice to improve the resilience of river protection works. The research presented in this thesis draws from data collected following the 4th September 2010 and 22nd February 2011 earthquakes. The stopbank damage is categorised into seven key deformation modes that were interpreted from aerial photographs, consultant reports, damage photographs and site visits. Each deformation mode provides an assessment of the observed mechanism of failure behind liquefaction-induced stopbank damage and the factors that influence a particular style of deformation. The deformation modes have been used to create a severity classification for the whole stopbank system, being ‘no or low damage’ and ‘major or severe damage’, in order to discriminate the indicators and factors that contribute to ‘major to severe damage’ from the factors that contribute to all levels of damage a number of calculated, land damage, stopbank damage and geomorphological parameters were analysed and compared at 178 locations along the Kaiapoi and Avon River stopbank systems. A critical liquefiable layer was present at every location with relatively consistent geotechnical parameters (cone resistance (qc), soil behaviour type (Ic) and Factor of Safety (FoS)) across the study site. In 95% of the cases the critical layer occurred within two times the Height of the Free Face (HFF,). A statistical analysis of the geotechnical factors relating to the critical layer was undertaken in order to find correlations between specific deformation modes and geotechnical factors. It was found that each individual deformation mode involves a complex interplay of factors that are difficult to represent through correlative analysis. There was, however, sufficient data to derive the key factors that have affected the severity of deformation. It was concluded that stopbank damage is directly related to the presence of liquefaction in the ground materials beneath the stopbanks, but is not critical in determining the type or severity of damage, instead it is merely the triggering mechanism. Once liquefaction is triggered it is the gravity-induced deformation that causes the damage rather than the shaking duration. Lateral spreading and specifically the depositional setting was found to be the key aspect in determining the severity and type of deformation along the stopbank system. The presence or absence of abandoned or old river channels and point bar deposits was found to significantly influence the severity and type of deformation. A review of digital elevation models and old maps along the Kaiapoi River found that all of the ‘major to severe’ damage observed occurred within or directly adjacent to an abandoned river channel. Whilst a review of the geomorphology along the Avon River showed that every location within a point bar deposit suffered some form of damage, due to the depositional environment creating a deposit highly susceptible to liquefaction.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

In this paper, the characteristics of near-fault ground motions recorded during the Mw7.1 Darfield and Mw 6.2 Christchurch earthquakes are examined and compared with existing empirical models. The characteristics of forward-directivity effects are first examined using a wavelet-based pulse-classification algorithm. This is followed by an assessment of the adequacy of empirical models which aim to capture the effect of directivity effects on amplifying the acceleration response spectra; and the period and peak velocity of the forward-directivity pulse. It is illustrated that broadband directivity models developed by Somerville et al. (1997) and Abrahamson (2000) generally under-predict the observed amplification of response spectral ordinates at longer vibration periods. In contrast, a recently developed narrowband model by Shahi and Baker (2011) provides significantly improved predictions by amplifying the response spectra within a small range of periods surrounding the directivity pulse period. Although the empirical predictions of the pulse period are generally favourable for the Christchurch earthquake, the observations from the Darfield earthquake are significantly under-predicted. The elongation in observed pulse periods is inferred as being a result of the soft sedimentary soils of the Canterbury basin. However, empirical predictions of the observed peak velocity associated with the directivity pulse are generally adequate for both events.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of an interview with artefact analyst Gwen Jackson, about the artefacts found at the site of the Theatre Royal. Hundreds of artefacts were found under the Isaac Theatre Royal, including bottles and ceramic shards. This was part of a greater project by archaeologists to examine pre-1900 sites in the Christchurch central city before work is conducted on them. Archaeological assessment of pre-1900 buildings is required by the 1993 Historic Places Act before work can be done on the site.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Two cardboard coffee cups in a takeaway tray sit on a wooden counter. The photographer comments, "What is the story of these coffees and that sad muffin? Were these an order when the earthquake struck Christchurch on 22 February 2011? Were these a workman's and a colleague's having a quick coffee break when a later aftershock caused them to leave everything behind when they fled the red zoned building, or were they just forgotten when the building was cleared out and abandoned?".