I guess this is as good a place for this as any.
Just a message of support to anyone in or around Christchurch last Tuesday. As many of you will know, Christchurch was struck by a 7.1 earthquake in Sept last year and were lucky to come away largely unscathed. However, there have been constant after shocks in the 3-4 range, including 2 very strong ones over Christmas. And then last Tuesday a 6.3, which was shallower that the Sept quake, struck causing wide spread damage and significant loss of life. The CBD is all but destroyed and they are talking of a clean up of months before rebuilding can even be considered.
My heart goes out to all our members affected, especially those with family and friends in the area. I consider myself to be very lucky to have had all my friends report in safe and hope the same can be said for every on here.
It is devastating. Our (little) office there is a block from the cathedral. It a beautiful city. Anyone interested in the Brutalist style architecture would love Canterbury University.
A colleague sent me this...
"So how many earthquakes has Christchurch had? 4,953 since the one in Sept last year! Check out http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/ to have the frequency, size and number of quakes visually represented. Set it the last 24 hours or Tuesday 22nd Feb, or even 6/9/10 (329 quakes in 1 day !)"
The website shows you howe much this part of the world is subject to the forces of nature.
My Sister lives in Darfield so was at the epicentre of the last earthquake, house was still standing afterwards but alot of damage, last Monday someone from the Earthquake Commission finally turned up to check the house and had agreed to pay for everything and the next day this happens, no more damage this time, but her Father-In-Law has just the clothes he was wearing when he went out on Tuesday as his house is gone, but he's alive and that's the main thing.
Its been gut-wrenching watching the news at night, and being gratefully at the same time that nobody in the family got hurt and for one reason or another wasn't in any of the badly effected areas when it happened.
Stuff.co.nz have put together some before and after shots of some of the buildings in Christchurch
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4705106/Photos-Before-and-after-the-Christchurch-earthquake
:(
This is horrible. I hate Earthquakes. I was in two major ones myself. La Jolla Ca. in 84, and the Northridge in 94. I am glad however that there are survivors.And buildings can be rebuilt.My thoughts and hopes are with those affected by this tragedy. And I am here If I can help in any way. - Jason
Hey guys, thanks for the messages of support. Catty, I'm glad your family is ok. I keep waiting for someone to say they lost a loved on and have been very fortunate so far that no one has. I just hope that that was the release the earth needed to settle down again and let Christchurch get on with it again.
People are now talking about re-building Christchurch and what would it look like, a few enthusiastic people have set up a website as they would like the new city to be an Elevated Garden City, not sure how it would look in RL or how it would work but it certainly looks interesting ...
http://www.elevatedgardencity.com/
Looks pretty good in my opinion. :) It's sad that so many beautiful buildings were destoroyed, are there any plans of rebuilding them?
As far as I know some are going to be "de-constructed" and rebuild later using the saved materials
two that will be definitely be rebuild or repaired are the
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Blessed_Sacrament,_Christchurch
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.static.flickr.com%2F3111%2F2603214481_83a867849a_z.jpg&hash=0650197a3cb396745244b613f3e45292064d966f) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/panr/2603214481/)
The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch, NZ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/panr/2603214481/) by pandrcutts (http://www.flickr.com/people/panr/), on Flickr
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.static.flickr.com%2F5292%2F5475910224_4261bc09d5_z.jpg&hash=6fd5dc4d859f73c7c983d72c71857949c912715e) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzoy/5475910224/)
CatholicCathedral (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzoy/5475910224/) by Edwin Flores, Sr (http://www.flickr.com/people/pinzoy/), on Flickr
and the Christchurch Cathedral http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christchurch_Cathedral
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.static.flickr.com%2F5289%2F5256673615_a99f4a50af_z.jpg&hash=273beffcfab4b20de280e51c9d68a64c34859092) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lemoncat1/5256673615/)
Cathedral Square Christchurch - 4 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lemoncat1/5256673615/) by lemoncat1 (http://www.flickr.com/people/lemoncat1/), on Flickr
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.static.flickr.com%2F5174%2F5475190445_50abe16e20_z.jpg&hash=2fad9da99c82a936ff4017730938d76db4139df0) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoftheref/5475190445/)
Christchurch Earthquake 22/02/11 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoftheref/5475190445/) by geoftheref (http://www.flickr.com/people/geoftheref/), on Flickr
catty
Just had a quick squiz over the Elevated City. Interesting concept. Functionally difficult to construct but by no means insurmountable. The hard part would be convincing landowners to buy into it.
I hear things are still shaking a bit down there. I really hope it settles down soon and lets the poor rattled residents recover and move forward.
Help decide what Christchurch is going to look like in the Future
QuoteMagnetic South is an online idea-generating game designed to help people explore the future together. Whether you have five hours or five minutes, you can help explore what the future will be like, and what this will mean for the decisions we make for our city. Draw on the collected knowledge and creativity of everyone playing to spotlight unexpected challenges, and help reveal new solutions to keep Christchurch vibrant and thriving in the next few decades.
http://www.magneticsouth.net.nz/
Game starts at 9 am Friday 24 June
It's over (http://gis.massey.landcareresearch.co.nz/~cwm/magnetic/index.html). I would've liked plans for a motorway network (or at least a continuous bypass link between its two motorways), it's like the second or third biggest city in NZ.
The draft plan for the rebuild of Christchurch has been released, people will also have a chance from the 16th of August to make comments on it, its got its own website here
http://www.centralcityplan.org.nz/
Quote"We propose to widen and celebrate the banks of the Avon River/Ōtakaro as Christchurch's new riverfront park; introduce a light rail system to initially connect the University of Canterbury and the Central City; build a new sports hub with an Olympic-size aquatic facility and indoor stadium; develop a new Central Library and a world-class convention centre; green Cathedral Square; and create a network of neighbourhood parks and gardens spread throughout the Central City."
:)
Its been quite some time since the draft plan to rebuild the Christchurch CBD was released for people to comment on, the final plan for the rebuild has now been released and you can download it from here ... its 120 pages long
http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/document/pdf/201231/Christchurch%20Central%20recovery%20plan.pdf
More details here http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/rebuilding-christchurch/7378437/Rebuild-plan-for-Christchurch-unveiled
:)
Hi Guys
A bit about SCIRT (Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team) their job is to rebuild the city's earthquake damaged roads, fresh water, wastewater and stormwater networks.
In the Month of July they spent $18 million. Monthly spend on SCIRT work is forecast to grow to $40 million each month and they estimate that they are going to need to hire additional 1,000 workers during the next 12 months on top of the existing staff they have already.
A few links
http://strongerchristchurch.govt.nz/
http://www.rebuildchristchurch.co.nz/blog/2012/3/scirt-e-news-9-march-2012
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/newsmedia/mediareleases/2012/201202031.aspx
The City is now having to deal with flooding along with everything else
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/newsmedia/mediareleases/2012/201208133.aspx
-catty
Sorry for the double post, but next time you do a bit of a city upgrade, this is what it means in RL
1.4 km stormwater pipe laid
530 Work notices distributed to 116,000 residents
80 projects totalling $185 million dollars currently under construction
187 projects totalling $73 milllion dollars being handed back to asset owners
114 projects totalling $796 million dollars being designed.
830 km of the 1600 km wastewater network needing assessment (over 100 mm diameter) completed using CCTV and multi-criteria assessment
29 projects totalling $123 million dollars being estimated.
18.6 km fresh water pipe laid
$1177 million dollars is the total value of work within the rebuild programme
91,990 sq m road pavement laid
430 km of 900 km of storm water network needing assessment (over 100 mm diameter) completed using CCTV and multi-criteria assessment
2000 Face-to-face interactions about our work
38.4 km wastewater pipe laid
:thumbsup:
hey Catty
Quote from: catty on August 13, 2012, 04:12:21 PM
Sorry for the double post, but next time you do a bit of a city upgrade, this is what it means in RL
I'm glad you double posted. A reminder of the what is happening elsewhere reminds me how fortunate I am. Thanks for the information.
- Jim
The roads are so damaged that they had to set up a website so Christchurch residents could work out how to get from home to work and back again each day
http://www.transportforchristchurch.govt.nz/
Another link, this time its to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) Picture Gallery
http://cera.govt.nz/photo-gallery
and something that's a bit :( the demolitions list
http://cera.govt.nz/demolitions/list
-catty
Coming soon is the Festival of Transitional Architecture (FESTA) is a new annual event for the city of Christchurch. From 20-28 October 2012, celebrate and explore temporary architecture and DIY urbanism in Christchurch, LUXCITY, our opening night event, is a city made from light for one night only
http://www.creative.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/about/events/events/template/event_item.jsp?cid=520101
QuoteLUXCITY, the opening event for the Festival of Transitional Architecture (FESTA), is a city made from light for one night. Over 350 architecture and design students from across New Zealand are designing and constructing 16 installations that use light to create spaces for pop-up functions: bars, cafes, live music venues, theatre and a gallery. The whole of Christchurch will be invited to return to the currently vacant city centre October 20th to enjoy and experience this unique urban atmosphere.
http://festa.org.nz/luxcity
-catty
It is very interesting to see how Christchurch is being rebuilt. And I admire the people for not giving up. I have family there but, unfortunately, I never had the chance to visit.
That demolition list is depressing, though. So many buildings and the list goes on and on. I have to admit that I didn't realise it was that bad.
Quote from: RickD on October 15, 2012, 02:44:53 AM
It is very interesting to see how Christchurch is being rebuilt. And I admire the people for not giving up. I have family there but, unfortunately, I never had the chance to visit.
That demolition list is depressing, though. So many buildings and the list goes on and on. I have to admit that I didn't realise it was that bad.
My Sister lives in Darfield, Christchurch which was the epicentre of the 7.1-magnitude quake which started this off in Sept 2010 and that wasn't as bad as the 6.3-magnitude in Feb 2011, buildings just couldn't take the extreme movement, even so apart from one building that collapsed and caught fire, most buildings stayed together long enough for the occupants to get out safely.
QuoteThe quake was a "strike-slip event with oblique motion"—mostly horizontal movement with some vertical movement—with reverse thrust (i.e. vertical movement upwards). The vertical acceleration was far greater than the horizontal acceleration. The intensity felt in Christchurch was MM VIII. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) in central Christchurch exceeded 1.8g (i.e. 1.8 times the acceleration of gravity), with the highest recording 2.2g, at Heathcote Valley Primary School, a shaking intensity equivalent to MM X+. This is the highest PGA ever recorded in New Zealand; the highest reading during the September 2010 event was 1.26g, recorded near Darfield. The PGA is also one of the greatest ever ground accelerations recorded in the world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Christchurch_earthquake
Cathy
QuoteAn international competition has been launched to design and build an urban village on the northeast side of Latimer Square.
The village will have a minimum of 50 dwellings and will occupy a 10,000-square-metre site on the corner of Madras and Gloucester streets.
Already nearly 130 architects and designers from around the world have registered their interest in taking part in the competition, which is being run jointly by the Christchurch City Council, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, the Christchurch Central Development Unit and Ngai Tahu ....
To see some of the plans for the rest of the city take a closer look at the picture in this link and hover over the blue dots
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/7817816/Competition-to-design-build-city-village
another link to the competition
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-living/7827499/McClouds-grand-design-for-Christchurch
and a "mooted design for the Christ Church Cathedral"
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.stuff.co.nz%2F1351022313%2F907%2F7773907.jpg&hash=28bb3a62ea96f9cd6655f8b205c0d5ac3afa957f)
-catty
I know its been a few years since I posted in here, but this article on the Christchurch rebuild seemed relevant, as you can see from the pictures of what's happening in Christchurch five years on from the earthquake you would be hard pressed to call this a rebuild, unless of course you like lots of trees and not a lot of neighbours
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/84993221/five-years-of-rebuilding-christchurch-as-seen-from-the-sky
-catty
I've checking the satellite photos and news reports, and frankly think that this is one of those moments when a city has to humbly submit itself to its geography: Christchurch is in a place that will be ever struck by earthquakes, and they will ever cause massive liquefaction; technology is simply insufficient to resolve the problem of a damped soil (it would require to literally replace huge blocks of ground with vibrated crushed stones, something that can be done for the foundations of one building, but not for an entire city).
Maybe a reasonable option would be to move the further expansion of the city away from the plainlands and to the hillside to the south, where soils are more stable and dry, and to follow the effects of the earthquake: keep the most affected areas as riverside parks and try to drain underground water to those places, which could be a very expensive endeavour, considering gravity wouldn't be helpful; maybe something akin to Netherlands' wind powered water pumps could help to reduce the costs.
Hailing from another land typically struck by earthquakes, the big lesson is always the same: to fight against the natural tendencies of the terrain is, no matter what, a lost cause.
Quote from: matias93 on October 06, 2016, 10:54:41 PM
....keep the most affected areas as riverside parks and try to drain underground water to those places, which could be a very expensive endeavour, considering gravity wouldn't be helpful; maybe something akin to Netherlands' wind powered water pumps could help to reduce the costs....
There are now about a dozen community groups advocated making all the "red zone" land ... the land in Christchurch was colored-coded so people knew if an area or house was OK, red means you can't rebuild as the land is to badly effected by the earthquakes ... into lakes and/or parks
This group wants to turn the area into parks
http://www.avonotakaronetwork.co.nz/projects/eden-nz--mountains-to-the-sea--ki-uta-ki-tai-.html
another group instead wants to build a 2.2-kilometre lake to be used for sports like rowing, etc as you can imagine that isn't going down well with the groups that want to have streams and parks, but it would have the advantage of having a place to drain all the water that keeps popping up every time there is another earthquake.
Thanks for that Stuff page Catty, I'd missed that one. It's still saddening to see how little of MY city is left.
Hey Catty, Hope you've survived the last round of Quakes. *hugs*