Christchurch Earthquake Response 2011

On Tuesday 22nd February 2011 at 12:51pm, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck under Lyttelton Harbour which caused devastation and numerous deaths in Christchurch and its eastern suburbs including Lyttelton.

With spectral accelerations reported to be in the order of 2.0g in some areas, the accelerations were for many modern buildings greater than their design loads, and for many historic buildings this was catastrophic as these buildings were not designed for seismic lading at all.

The Ruamoko team were all in the centre of town at the time the quake struck, and out the window of our SBS House office we saw many buildings collapse, including the Trinity Church, Pedros Restaurant, the Druids Building, and the CTV building. Fortunately all the team and their families are safe and well.

As specialist earthquake engineers, we were again, amongst the first to report to Civil Defence Headquarters at the Christchurch Art Gallery, where we were dispatched to the CBD to carry out rapid assessments and to provide advice on the stabilisation of the CBD's "Critical Buildings" including the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Copthorne Hotel Durham Street, Victoria Clocktower and Pacific Brands House. We carried out this work for five days, and as of Monday 28th we began carrying out regular services for Ruamoko Solutions clients as well. In recognition for this work, our engineers (along with others) were awarded the Fulton-Downer Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement.

Elected a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (FIPENZ), Senior Engineer Grant Wilkinson has an almost unmatched wealth of experience on Christchurch's Buildings. He has been actively involved in the development of structural codes in New Zealand and around the world, and has authored parts of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering guidelines ‘Assessment and Improvement of the Structural Performance of Buildings in Earthquakes’. He has also been an advisor to the Department of Building and Housing New Zealand, and been an advisor for a world bank funded earthquake engineering reconnaisance team in Romania and Turkey where he advised and co-authored earthquake codes in these regions.

Chartered Senior Engineers Julian Ramsay and Cameron MacPherson are both specialist seismic engineers and have extensive experience with all forms of construction in Canterbury, especially in the strengthening and assessment of Earthquake Prone Buildings (EPB's) and have both completed Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) training courses, and been heavily involved in assessments following the September 2010 earthquake. Cameron has completed Masters research into the seismic performance of concrete frame structures which has become part of New Zealand’s latest design standards.  This work was funded by the Earthquake Commission of New Zealand (EQC).

Graduate Engineer Chris Watson has been actively involved in earthquake assessments since the September 2010 earthquake, and is a specialist in Timber Seismic Engineering.

An event like this has tested the methods and codes of structural engineering in New Zealand. As predicted, all Ruamoko Solutions projects we are aware of survived undamaged, and performed well and as expected during the quake.

As specialists in the field of seismic engineering, assessment and strengthening, our post earthquake services include reports, strengthening options, assessments, building walkovers and the like.

As we are not a multi-disciplinary firm we are focused totally on the art and science of earthquake and structural engineering, which is our specialty and as such we can offer unsurpassed advantages to clients.

Please note that due to high demand we are focusing mainly on larger non-residential buildings, however we have resource available to carry out all assessments.

As our offices are not safe yet to return to, we have set up a temporary office in Sydenham, but will be up and running in town as soon as possible. We are looking forward to being a part of the rebuild of our great city.

More facts about the earthquake can be found here.

Contacts:

Julian Ramsay: 021 1731 337

Cameron MacPherson: 021 223 3663

Grant Wilkinson: 021 331 741