Observations from the EERI Public Health Team
We are the last two EERI team members to arrive in New Zealand. The Hopkins crew (Dr. Tom Kirsch and I) arrived in New Zealand yesterday afternoon. Shortly after arriving, we had our first international team meeting at the Chateau on the Park Hotel, just up the street from where we are staying. The meeting […]
Observations from the EERI Team
During the afternoon, we revisited a large heritage stone masonry building showing signs of unusual differential settlement, noted by the EERI team on earlier inspections. The large 1930’s L shaped building showed demonstrable settlement, tilting and liquefaction ejecta around its exterior. Maximum relative settlement was estimated at ~.2m to ground elevation. In the 1990’s the […]
Observations from the EERI Team
Now their job is huge and they are planning for both near term business survival and long term revitalization. Short-term, about $10 million (NZ) to the business community after the September earthquake and will provide about $200 million (NZ) after the February event. These funds include government support of $500 per employee per week for […]
Observations from the EERI Team
The day started in the Geotechnical Coordination meeting where assessment teams provided updates on specific areas they were tasked to map. The significant coordination of this effort became very evident as these areas had buildings needing both geotechnical (slope stability) and structural clearance to allow re-occupancy. Many of the building were red-tagged based on initial […]
Observations of Retaining Walls from the EERI Team
Retaining walls in residential areas generally ranged from 1 to 4 meters high. Wall types observed included: gravity rock and masonry walls, gabion walls, masonry walls with ground anchors, concrete crib walls, timber crib walls, and timber pile walls. Example photos are shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Wall performance ranged […]
Observations from the EERI Team
The day started with rain which makes taking good photos difficult and makes everything a little bit harder. We started off the day looking specifically at partially or fully retrofitted unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings. Here in Christchurch there are a large number of URMs and a number of these have received some degree of retrofitting. […]
Observations on Retrofitted URM Buildings from the EERI Team
Today our team of engineers reviewed several unreinforced masonry structures that were previously seismically retrofitted. The performance of the retrofitted structures varied greatly. The team observed multiple failures in retrofitted connections, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, that had been installed to tie unreinforced masonry walls to floor or roof diaphragms. Figure 1. […]
Observations from the EERI Team
Most of the EERI team members volunteered to work for the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) on Day 3. I was assigned to Rapid Response, which has variety of responsibilities. The team I was assigned to include a New Zealand registered structural engineer, a city worker, and two USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) members. On the […]
Observations of Retaining Walls from the EERI Team
Of course, there were exceptions. Timber pile walls consistently performed well, or at least, they are still standing and look to be in great shape. As an example of the exception, I attached one photo where there is settlement and cracking at the top of a timber pile wall, but the walls itself is fantastic. […]
Observations from the EERI Team
Much of the campus is currently cordoned off and many offices and classrooms are inaccessible. University officials have provided frequent updates to students, faculty, and staff via the University website, Facebook, and email. The EERI social science team—myself, Anne Wein, and Jeannette Sutton—toured the accessible areas of campus on Monday, March 14. The temporary tent […]