Thursday, November 25, 2010

Lyttelton 2 months post Darfield Quake

14.11.10. Lyttelton focus. Two months post 04.09.10 Darfield Quake, M7.1, I drove to Lyttelton to snap quake damage & rebuild there. I drove via Avon-Heathcote Estuary at Redcliffs, Sumner, reopened Evans Pass, which had been closed for a while due to a quake landslide.

Beachville Rd, Redcliffs, by Avon-Heathcote Estuary: Lateral spreading, long cracks by the estuary, for about 500m beside the seawall ghost. The 22.02.11 Killer Quake would increase lateral spreading along Beachville Rd, causing the seawall to tilt seawards.



14.11.10. Quake cracked pavement, footpath, lateral spreading by Avon-Heathcote Estuary sea wall, Beachville Rd



14.11.10. Quake cracked footpath, pavement, lateral spreading by Avon-Heathcote Estuary sea wall, Beachville Rd



14.11.10. Quake cracked footpath, carpark, lateral spreading by Avon-Heathcote Estuary sea wall, Beachville Rd



14.11.10. Quake cracked carpark, lateral spreading by Avon-Heathcote Estuary sea wall, Beachville Rd



14.11.10. Quake cracked footpath, pavement, lateral spreading by Avon-Heathcote Estuary sea wall, Beachville Rd. Moncks Bay beyond

Evans Pass: On my drive to Lyttelton via Sumner & Evans Pass, I saw quake rock falls had been cleared from Evans Pass: clean "new" roadside cuttings, rock scarred road.

London St, Lyttelton: Harbour Light Theatre ghost, 2 storey, brick, side wall cracked. Facade steel reinforced. Concrete towers on façade top, steel propped. Harbour Light Theatre would be demolished post 22.02.11 Killer Quake.



14.11.10. Quake cracked, Harbour Light Theatre & steel reinforcement, London St. Harbour Light Theatre would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Quake cracked, Harbour Light Theatre & steel reinforcement, London St. Harbour Light Theatre would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Quake damaged, Harbour Light Theatre & steel reinforcement, London St. Harbour Light Theatre would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake

Post quake reinforcements like wood or steel bracing, boarding, nylon strapping were done to stop walls, facades, gables, parapets shaking to bits during many aftershocks over many weeks.



14.11.10. Structex quake inspection sticker, London St

London St bldg, Structex, white inspection sticker:

STRUCTEX

INSPECTED
NO RESTRICTION ON USE OR OCCUPANCY

This building has received a brief walkover inspection. While no apparent structural safety hazards have been found, a more comprehensive inspection of the exterior and interior may reveal engineering related issues.

RESTRICTED
NO ENTRY EXCEPT ON ESSENTIAL BUSINESS

This building has been damaged and its structural safety is questionable. Enter only at own risk. Subsequent aftershocks or other events may result in increased damage and danger, changing this assessment. Re-inspection may be required. The damage observed is as described below:

UNSAFE
DO NOT ENTER OR OCCUPY

This building has been seriously damaged and is unsafe. Do not enter. Entry may result in death or injury. The damage observed is as described below:

Cross out the designations that do not apply. [RESTRICTED & UNSAFE were crossed out on the sticker].

Description of damage and / or notes on restricted use...

White engineering inspection sticker, an example of inconsistent inspection stickers on bldgs post Darfield Quake. Although the white sticker did the same job as Christchurch City Council's green, yellow, red inspection stickers, the white sticker's wording was different & would confuse those heeding Council's colour coded stickers. At a glance, the white inspection sticker could easily be mistaken as a bldg owner's relocation notice or advice to customers. There were many such relocation & advice notices on post quake bldgs.

London St, Empire Hotel ghost: 2 storey, steel braced, brick façade. Part of the top balustrade was nylon strapped. Cnr parapet cracked. Plaster fallen from top storey windows. Empire Hotel would be demolished post 22.02.11 Killer Quake. 2021. The weedy demolition site would have a FOR SALE sign on it. 2023. Demo site still vacant, weedy, covered with wood chip mulch, absorbing mud from pedestrian usage.



14.11.10. Quake damaged, steel braced Empire Hotel, London St. Empire Hotel would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake


14.11.10. Quake damaged, steel braced, strapped Empire Hotel, London St. Empire Hotel would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Quake damaged, steel braced, strapped Empire Hotel cnr, London St. Empire Hotel would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Orange, plastic, fence cordon. Quake damaged gravity retaining wall, covered by blue tarp, Oxford St

Soon post quake, tech student Luke had gone on a Lyttelton retaining wall excursion, led by his tutor, showing mostly quake damaged, gravity retaining walls & lesser damaged cantilever walls.

Oxford St: Quake trashed, gravity retaining wall: toppled, red, tuff stones on pavement. Orange, plastic barrier cordon. Wall gap, blue tarped.



14.11.10. Tarp bandaged, quake damaged chimney, Oxford St. Quail Island backdrop

Oxford St: Quake damaged, 2 storey, weatherboard house, blue tarped chimney. Brick 2 storey: red stickered; wood braced, boarded facade; blue, nylon strapped parapet; steel mesh fence cordon. Brick 1 storey, quake tilted. Side wall, wood braced.



14.11.10. Quake damaged, window braced, boarded, strapped bldg, Oxford St. Bldg would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Quake damaged, braced, boarded, strapped bldg, Oxford St. Bldg would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Quake tilted bldg, Oxford St. Bldg would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Undamaged door, quake tilted bldg, Oxford St

Gladstone Quay, Lyttelton Times: 2 storey, top storey, wood braced. Two sailors carrying suitcases wandered to the port. Subsequent quakes would rip off Lyttelton Times side wall. 2023. Lyttelton Times would still be abandoned, no repairs yet.

Lyttelton Museum ghost: 3 storey, parapet wood braced. Steel mesh fence cordoned. Lyttelton Museum would be demolished post 22.02.11 Killer Quake.



14.11.10. Quake damaged, wood braced Lyttelton Times, Gladstone Quay. Bldg would be badly damaged by the 22.02.11 quake, then demolished



14.11.10. Wood braced, quake damaged Lyttelton Times, Gladstone Quay. Bldg would be badly damaged by the 22.02.11 quake, then demolished



14.11.10. Sailors. Quake damaged Lyttelton Times, Gladstone Quay. Bldg would be badly damaged by the 22.02.11 quake, then demolished.



14.11.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Quake damaged Lyttelton Museum, Gladstone Quay. Museum would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Quake damaged, wood braced Lyttelton Museum parapet, Gladstone Quay. Museum would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Steel mesh fence cordon. Wood braced parapet, quake damaged Lyttelton Museum, Gladstone Quay. Museum would be demolished post 22.02.11 quake



14.11.10. Parapet, wood reinforced, brick wall, quake damaged bldg, Canterbury St, Lyttelton

Canterbury St: Brick 2 storey, side brick wall, boarded below parapet.

Lyttelton would be hugely damaged by the 22.02.11 Killer Quake. Two men would be killed by rock falls on Port Hills tracks above Lyttelton: St Helmores Track & Major Hornbrook Track.

*Trekked Beachville Rd, London St, Oxford St, Gladstone Quay, Canterbury St. 25 snaps.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the pictures for those of us who don't get to Chch often. My family owned the Empire Hotel during WW2 and it's interesting to see what has happened to the old building since the quake.

    ReplyDelete