Lessons from the Post-Earthquake Evaluation of Damaged Buildings in Christchurch

Abstract

The New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) building safety evaluation process was implemented in several earthquakes that occurred as part of the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. This provided an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the current processes across a range of issues. In addition to the established rapid assessments, guidelines have been developed for the detailed engineering evaluation of damaged buildings. Lessons have been drawn from these experiences relating to the effectiveness of placards and the rapid visual assessment of damage, requirements for a full spectrum of assessment processes, and training needs. Improvements to the current building safety evaluation processes are proposed and further considerations for reoccupation of damaged buildings are outlined. While this paper is based on the authors’ experiences in New Zealand, the findings are expected to have wider applications.