Another large quake hits Christchurch New Zealand

reply to post by grantbeed


yes i just posted that above. it is terrible as if enough damage has happend already, but im afraid that this building may go i dont like the chance though as the aftershocks just keep comming

reply to post by karmajayne


For those that dont know this building that is about to collapse is 26 stories:

"As another significant aftershock hits Christchurch, rescue personnel are being pulled back from the central city as the 26-storey Hotel Grand Chancellor building is on the verge of collapse. "
Link

reply to post by ReginaAdonnaAaron


And you call yourself a Xtian?

Go tell someone who gives a damn because right now I don't want to see your posts on this thread again!

reply to post by byteshertz


thanks for that i was aware but i did not put in post thank you. do you know if or how many people may be trapped in this building?. i am under the understanding that one floor has already collapsed and as grant said before it is sinking very quickly.. they have cleard two blocks around the hotel so far as a safty precaustion

reply to post by karmajayne


No sorry - the council is requesting people stay off chrischurch roads because emergency services are having trouble moving around. One corner of the grand chancellor has sunk and it is likely to take other buildings with it - if people are trapped in any of these buildings I am not sure.

That's going to make a mess - there's believed to be no-one in it though, but it'll destroy or sseverely damage everything nearby when it tumbles - looks like liquifaction has hit its foundations - photo of it from the air - not quite straight any more!

It's going to be difficult to build anything substantial in Chch for a long time I think - stability will require knowing foundations are secure - merely putting buildings on bearings won't be enough, and I don't think there is any bedrock under the city - it is relatively loose soil for as far down as can be dug.

there's an intersting map of hte city after the Sept 4 earthquake here clearly showing large areas of hte CBD are known high risk areas.

The civil engineering departments at Auckland and Canterbury universities are going to have a lot of scholarships and research grants on offer for this over the next decade or 2!!

Rebuilding will take years i imagine. The central city will be derelict for a long long time after this. Who would ever want to go back into town and risk being killed ?

reply to post by grantbeed



Ahh but humans do strange things. Look at those who live under volcanoes, look at the fact people live on the San Andres fault in California, or with a Nuclear reactor in their city?

No people will come back. But Christchurch is going to look like those European cities after the second world war, it's going to have new buildings all over, and perhaps in 100 years people will comment on the late Elizabethan (II) architectural of Christchurch?

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


I'm thinking the same thing too. Part of CHCH, from what I understand, was intitually build on a swamp? I'm not so sure if CHCH is a viable place to rebuild it's city long term; what do you think?

thanks for the info above posters im glad to hear there is no one reported to be in the hotel or surrounding buildings as this will cause a big mess if it does collapse there is alot under and around this building. looks like liqufaction has a major part in the devastation caused in this quake and the sept quake like grant said it is going to take along time to rebuild the city making sure that the foundations are safe to build on will it ever be safe to build on?.

reply to post by grantbeed


I think many will leave CHCH now for greener pastures - I have no doubt quite alot will head over the pond to Australia.

reply to post by karmajayne


Thats the big golden question - if they rebuilt I think it should be on a much lower scale and perhaps consider Dunedin as the new hub for the South Island?

reply to post by bluemirage5


I agree.

Many people were seriously considering leaving here after last Septembers quake. This will be the tipping point for many families.

the emotional strain is huge.

reply to post by bluemirage5


yeah im leaning towards that maby it might be a good idea for it not to be rebuilt like it is now i mean how many time does this have to happen before we learn our lesson obvisly this place is not a good place to build a major city such a shame though was such a beautiful city i just don't want to see anymore lives lost!

Originally posted by bluemirage5
reply to post by karmajayne

 

Thats the big golden question - if they rebuilt I think it should be on a much lower scale and perhaps consider Dunedin as the new hub for the South Island?

I think one of the biggest lessons to learn here is do not centralize vital services! They had planned to move all neuro-surgery to Christchurch to save money last year, I am glad they did not, because I am sure we need some of those Neurosurgeons now!

reply to post by grantbeed


I also agree with you however....where does one go anywhere in NZ to find work? With welfare clamping down and severe lack of jobs is only going to dramatically increase anxiety among these people. Perhaps many of these businesses in CHCH consider a move to Dunedin or perhaps transfer to almost empty towns like Tokoroa or Wanganui where there's plenty of available cheap housing. Tokoroa has alot of potential and it's close to Auckland, Tga, Taupo and Rotorua. Just throwing out ideas.

reply to post by bluemirage5


i agree with you too if it's not safe and they a planing a move why not populate smaller places that have cheep housing and start a new town city i think would be a good idea if they all move around the same time it would help with jobs and money it would make it eaiser right?.

reply to post by karmajayne


Absolutely....and it would help boost many of these smaller towns. Probably a really stupid question but how safe is Dunedin long term?

AFAIK it is entirely possible to build earthquake resistant buildings in Chch even though it is built on a swamp and a river plain - it just hasn't been done, or at least the level of resistance built into them was insufficient, because it was thought to not be an earthquake zone.

Some buildings had been strengthened - the old Provincial chambers and the Arts Centre had extensive strengthening done through the 80's IIRC - steel bars and sropts were visible on hte outside of the stonework, etc. But it was obviously insufficient - presumably they were strengthened to a level thought adequate at the time.

So it's going to be expensive to rebuild because the requirements are going to be much tougher - when "the big one" hits Wellington it's going to be much stronger than Chch's - most Kiwi's are at leat vaguely aware that Wellington is built on a fault line, and much of its CBD was raised by a large earthquake in the 1850's - the Basin Reserve used to be a dock accessed by sailing up what is now Kent and Cambridge terrace! I look out on the fault line less than a km away!


And true to form humanity has shown its darker side too - the scams have started!

reply to post by bluemirage5


I'm also thinking perhaps Govt could subsidize businesses if they make the move to smaller towns like Tokoroa and Wanganui where there is already cheap housing there or move to Dunedin. Definately a good option to think about.