November quakes trigger building code shakedown

In response to this week’s earthquakes, MBIE has undertaken an investigation into the performance of buildings such as Statistics House at CentrePort to help inform improved building regulation, according to an MBIE press release on Thursday.

The technical investigation will initially focus on Statistics House to understand its performance and where there may be wider lessons for improved seismic strength design. If information comes to hand on other issues related to seismic performance, the investigation may be widened.

“The fact most low-rise earthquake-prone buildings did not suffer extensive damage reflects more on the type of earthquake than the building’s overall seismic strength. There is no place for complacency and building owners need expert engineering advice on managing these risks”, said Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

“The key to reducing the significant risks New Zealand faces from earthquakes is ensuring we learn every lesson possible. This investigation will help this ongoing improvement in our seismic design standards”, he said.