March 13, 2011. Earthquake Engineering Research Insitute.
Most of the EERI Team volunteered to assist ongoing safety assesments of damaged buildings for the past two days. The Emergency Operations Center gladly accepted EERI’s offer to help.
New Zealand’s safety assessment protocols for buildings are similar to those in the U.S. for placing red (unsafe), yellow (restricted access) or green (inspected) placards on buildings so we were somewhat familiar and generally helpful in documentation of the placarding and in making decisions. Responsibility for each team’s decisions were principally delegated to Certified Professional Engineers from other parts of New Zealand that had flown in to assist as volunteers. EERI Team members were assisting those engineers. All teams were escorted by Urban Search and Rescue Personnel for their safety.
Saturday March 12’s assessments by teams concentrated on providing more detailed evaluations of yellow and red buildings in the southern portion of the Central Business District, Zone 5. On Sunday, March 13th, some EERI volunteers focused on reconfirming red and yellow buildings in Zone 4 by helping facilitate more detailed evaluations. Other EERI volunteers were assigned by the EOC to teams making rapid responses to inquiries from owners throughout Christchurch, Bexley, and Lyttleton who had expressed concerned about the safety of their buildings or who needed assistance in retrieving critical contents from damaged buildings.
Portions of the CBD will be opened first to owners to retrieve contents and begin recovery starting on Monday in Zone 5 and followed by other zones later in the week after more level 2 evaluations are conducted.
