Abstract
The 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes, which involved widespread damage during the February 2011 event and ongoing aftershocks near the Christchurch Central Business District, left this community with more than $NZD 40 billion in losses (~20 % GDP), demolition of approximately 60 % of multi-storey concrete buildings (3 storeys and up), and closure of the core business district for over 2 years. The aftermath of the earthquake sequence has revealed unique issues and complexities for the owners of commercial and multi-storey residential buildings in relation to unexpected technical, legal, and financial challenges when making decisions regarding the future of their buildings impacted by the earthquakes. The paper presents a framework to understand the factors influencing post-earthquake decisions (repair or demolish) on multi-storey concrete buildings in Christchurch. The study, conducted in 2014, includes in-depth investigations on 15 case-study buildings using 27 semi-structured interviews with various property owners, property managers, insurers, engineers, and government authorities in New Zealand. The interviews revealed insights regarding the multitude of factors influencing post-earthquake decisions and losses. As expected, the level of damage and repairability (cost to repair) generally dictated the course of action. There is strong evidence, however, that other variables have significantly influenced the decision on a number of buildings, such as insurance, business strategies, perception of risks, building regulations (and compliance costs), and government decisions. The decision-making process for each building is complex and unique, not solely driven by structural damage. Furthermore, the findings have put the spotlight on insurance policy wordings and the paradoxical effect of insurance on the recovery of Christchurch, leading to other challenges and issues going forward.
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Acknowledgments
This research was conducted in collaboration with CERA, the Christchurch City Council, GNS Science, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE), and the University of Auckland. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Erica Seville and Dave Brunsdon from Resilient Organisations in discussing the research design and context, developing an appropriate list of interviewees, and providing logistical assistance. We also acknowledge the generous cooperation and time provided by the interviewees and local engineers throughout this study. Support for the University of British Columbia research team was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Compliance with ethical standard
The primary research for this paper received ethics approval from the University of British Columbia Behavioural Ethics Research Board (ID: H14-01332) as well as the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee (ID: 012911).
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
List of interviewees by category | Interview location and date |
|---|---|
Category A: Building executive officers/owner’s representatives | |
Connal Townsend, Chief Executive: Property Council of New Zealand | Auckland, 14 October 2014 |
Darren Moses, Unit Manager: Christchurch City Council | Christchurch, 29 October 2014 |
David Meates, Chief Executive: Canterbury District Health Board | Christchurch, 24 September 2014 |
Gary Jarvis, Group Operations Manager: Heritage Hotel Management | Auckland, 13 October 2014 |
Jeff Field, University Registrar: University of Canterbury | Christchurch, 26 September 2014 |
Josie Ogden-Schroeder, Chief Executive: YMCA Christchurch | Christchurch, 25 September 2014 |
Mark Youthed, Senior Commercial Asset Manager: Knight Frank | Christchurch, 24 September 2014 |
Miles Romanes, Project Manager: Pace Project Management | Christchurch, 24 September 2014 |
Participant A1, Structural Engineer | Christchurch, 23 September 2014 |
Category B: Building developers/property investors | |
Chris Gudgeon, Chief Executive: Kiwi Income Property Trust | Auckland, 15 October 2014 |
Ernest Duval, Trust Manager/CEO: ETP/Fortis Construction | Christchurch, 24 September 2014 |
Glen Boultwood, Fund Manager: Eureka Funds | Auckland, 15 October 2014 |
Lisle Hood, Property Investor: Business Building Systems | Christchurch, 22 October 2014 |
Miles Middleton, Property Investor: Viewmount Orchards | Christchurch, 25 September 2014 |
Participant B1, General Manager | Christchurch, 5 November 2014 |
Peter Rae, Chairman and Managing Director: Peter Rae Industries | Christchurch, 23 September 2014 |
Philip Burdon, Property Investor and Developer | Christchurch, 5 November 2014 |
Shaun Stockman, Managing Director: KPI Rothschild Property | Christchurch, 22 September 2014 |
Category C: Insurance | |
Jimmy Higgins, Executive GM—Earthquake Programme: Vero NZ | Auckland, 15 October 2014 |
John Lucas, Insurance Manager: Insurance Council of New Zealand | Wellington, 17 October 2014 |
Murray Spicer, Engineer acting for insurers: MacDonald Barnett | Auckland, 14 October 2014 |
Simon Foley, Distribution Manager: Zurich New Zealand | Auckland, 15 October 2014 |
Storm McVay, Executive Broker: Crombie Lockwood | Christchurch, 22 September 2014 |
Category D: Government authorities | |
John O’Hagan, Lead Engineer—Significant Buildings Unit: CERA | Christchurch, 22 October 2014 |
John Snook, Structural Engineer: CERA | Christchurch, 30 September 2014 |
Participant D1, CERA | Christchurch, 26 September 2014 |
Steve McCarthy, Regulatory Services Manager: CCC | Christchurch, 26 September 2014 |
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Marquis, F., Kim, J.J., Elwood, K.J. et al. Understanding post-earthquake decisions on multi-storey concrete buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand. Bull Earthquake Eng 15, 731–758 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-015-9772-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-015-9772-8