Post 4 September 2010 Quake, nearly 15 months before & post 22 February 2011 Quake nine months before, there were many sucker-trucks around Christchurch, sucking shit & other substances from broken-homes, broken-businesses, broken-roads & broken-pipes. Jake flatted in Geraldine St, where sucker-trucks parked after shit-sucking. Despite damages in the CBD & eastern suburbs, our alluvial-shingled, Burnside got off lightly in the 2010-2011 quakes, lots of shaking, no liquefaction, less silt in the ground. There was little shit-sucking in Burnside.
Heath St: Over the last nine months, our landlord & EQC inspectors twice inspected our rental. First inspection before the 22 February 2011 Quake: Our landlord told us there was about $10 000 damages to the house, including roof-truss damage. Since the first EQC inspection, the house experienced more quakes & aftershocks. I was in the house during the XL quakes: 4 September 2010, 26 December 2010, 22 February 2011, 13 June 2011, having to rush to front or back door-frames (whichever closest) for protection during the 22 February & 13 June quakes.
Thursday 01.12.11. Another EQC inspector (so young, he didn't shave yet, paid $75/hour, on the job for little over an hour, plus out-of-town- expenses) & the landlady checked the house again: more cracks in walls, ceilings & floors since the last EQC check. The landlORD told me Fletcher Construction would make a third check before any repairs were done to our green-zone house. Two years later we would still wait for the Fletcher checkup. Why was EQC taking so long to pay? Why was EQC checking our house more than once? Why was Fletcher so slow?
Broken-houses I saw waited so long for repairs that new-yellow boards closing broken-windows, broken-doors & broken-walls had weathered grey from exposure, while EQC's overpaid, inexperienced assessors slurped gravy.
God help homeowners in the Port Hills: There were 500 odd homeowners in red-stickered white-zone positions in the Port Hills, where CERA took its time deciding on the land condition of white-zone houses.
Council harassed homeowners with eviction-threats. Some homeowners refused to leave their red-stickered houses. Some never left, no money for rentals. Some camped in their gardens before leaving.
Port Hills, red-stickered homeowners had to cope with CERA, EQC, Council, insurers, mortgages on red-stickered homes, rates (60%) on red- stickered homes, new rental homes, rental home accommodation-allowances expiring, displaced-families; packing & moving costs at short notice, quaked-businesses, kids moving to temporary schools or tertiary education, indifferent bureaucrats, health problems!
Council had green-stickered CTV multi-storey & PGC multi-storey several times post 4 September 2010 Quake, allowing businesses to proceed. Despite complaints from businesses renting those broken-buildings, the buildings collapsed in the 22 February 2011 Quake; 115 dead CTV, 18 dead PGC. Others died in Port Hills rockfalls & masonry collapses in the CBD. 22 February 2011 Quake's death toll: 185.
Over the last week, we heard news from the Royal Commission why multi-storey PGC collapsed: Council green-stickered PGC was only strengthened 30-40 % of the building code. Why not 100%?
Council faffed about dangerous buildings post-quakes: Bishopdale Library was closed by Council, after green-stickering it for eight month's use by Council workers & citizens. Excuse for closure: Bishopdale Library needed strengthening! (Bishopdale Library would be demolished & rebuilt). Fendalton Library was also closed for "earthquake repairs" after being opened for weeks.
30.11.11. Green stickered, Fendalton Library, closed for post quake repairs, Jeffreys Rd
Jeffreys Rd: When I went to Fendalton Library to return books, several citizens stood around outside, shaking their heads, muttering at Council incompetence, blue & white closure-stickers on windows & doors. Signs told us to go to Papanui Library open seven days a week. Council was spooked about liability for past & future quake-damages.
Cambridge Tce: The Royal Commission revealed finger-pointing & ass-covering by dissemblers claiming innocence of negligence & incompetence regarding PGC collapse in the 22 February 2011 Quake:
The PGC building owner said he didn't know PGC was "earthquake prone" when he bought it in 2009, as his lawyers & real-state agents hadn't told him about building reports stating PGC was quake-prone. The owner was a real-estate tycoon. It was his business to know. He said he would've paid for PGC strengthening had he known.
"I didn't know..." was the theme-song for many dissemblers at the Royal Commission:
Harcourts' PGC commercial-manager said he knew from a Plant & Building Safety Ltd report & LIM report about PGC being quake-prone, but didn't tell the new owner or Holmes Consulting engineers, but knew the engineers knew about PGC history.
PGC company-secretary said he wasn't told PGC was quake-prone, as warned by a Holmes Consulting engineers report in 2007 & only found out about quake-prone warnings after PGC's fatal collapse. (The Star 30.11.11).
Holmes Consulting Group engineers Boys & Whiteside did four PGC inspections post 4 September 2010 Quake. They inspected damages, not overall strength & passed PGC "safe to occupy." (The Press 06.12.11).
Council environmental policy & approvals manager admitted a Council green-sticker was placed on PGC on 5 September, but it was the responsibility of the building-owner & engineers to do more checks on PGC. (The Star 30.11.11).
Green-stickered PGC had cracks & was shaken by passing, heavy traffic post 4 September 2010 Quake & post 26 December 2010 Quake. Hare, the Holmes engineer, questioned by the Royal Commission, supported his engineer inspectors Boys & Whiteside, yet Hare was the principal engineer & advisor to CERA! (The Press 05.11.11.)
Hare said the PGC building-owner should've asked for a detailed inspection of PGC, post 4 September 2010 Quake, not just superficial damage inspections. Engineers thus blamed PGC building-owner for doing superficial checks & not comprehensive checks.
Why did engineers take money from building-owners & not insist on comprehensive checks?
Pre-quakes Council wasn't concerned about Port Hills rockfall-hazards. Post-quakes Council employed a private investigator to spy on citizens living in their red-stickered homes in white-zone Port Hills: Avoca Valley, Bowenvale Valley, Lyttelton... (The Press). Council threatened that citizens could be evicted from their red-stickered homes if still living there. Who would own Council red-zoned properties after owners were evicted & paid out under Council red-sticker duress?
Thursday 01.12.11. Sunny afternoon, I drove to Bowenvale Ave to see damages. Pre-quakes, I'd done Port Hills walks in Bowenvale Valley, starting from the carpark at the end of Bowenvale Ave & climbing to Summit Rd.
01.12.11. Gate signs, start of Bowenvale tracks, end of Bowenvale Ave. 4x4s forbidden sign right, due to rockfall hazard
Bowenvale Ave: A track sign on the walkway start-gate forbade 4x4 vehicles due to rockfall hazards. There were no signs forbidding walkers in Bowenvale Valley. I snapped Bowenvale Valley board-map below a rocky bluff. I saw no rockfalls!
01.12.11. Bowenvale Valley tracks map, by rocky bluff, end of Bowenvale Ave
I trekked down Bowenvale Ave to Centaurus Rd by Heathcote River. No rockfall-hazards seen! I saw rocky bluffs above some houses protected by tall mature trees. I didn't see any recent rockfalls like lighter coloured rocks on grey-bluffs, or rock-slide gouges down grassy slopes, or broken-vegetation which I'd seen in Heathcote Valley & Sumner Valley after rockfalls. Council was using rockfall-hazard as an excuse to red-sticker housing in Bowenvale Valley!
01.12.11. Bowenvale Valley bluffs, no signs of quake rock falls above quake damaged housing, Bowenvale Ave
After 15 months of quakes I didn't see any rockfalls in Bowenvale Valley! I saw no signs of slippery-slopes in Bowenvale Valley despite 15 months of four XL quakes & 1 000s of aftershocks.
Council generalized rockfall-hazards in all Port Hills valleys after rockfalls at Sumner, Redcliffs & Heathcote Valley & tracks above Lyttelton to the detriment of white-zone & red-stickered housing. Release of geotech reports could have enabled citizens to decide their own fates rather than dictatorial Council & CERA.
01.12.11. Quake damaged, part repaired housing, Bowenvale Ave
01.12.11. Open concrete drain, Bowenvale Ave side
I didn't trek smaller roads off Bowenvale Ave, or up valley slopes. I saw enough damaged-housing & part-repaired-housing on Bowenvale Ave to be convinced Bowenvale Valley was severely shaken in the 2010-2011 quakes.
01.12.11. Quake damaged housing with roof tarps, Bowenvale Valley slope, Bowenvale Ave
Bowenvale Ave tarseal was in good condition. Bowenvale Valley, a Port Hills water-catchment had open-drains both sides of Bowenvale Ave going down to Heathcote River by Centaurus Rd.
01.12.11. Quake damaged, part repaired housing, Bowenvale Ave
Life continued in Bowenvale Ave: flowers blooming, cut lawns, flourishing trees, cars coming & going, people wandering amidst damages.
01.12.11. Quake damaged, part repaired housing, Bowenvale Valley slope, Bowenvale Ave
01.12.11. Post quake, wood braced, concrete garden wall, Bowenvale Ave
01.12.11. Quake damaged, part repaired housing, Bowenvale Ave
I snapped ghost-houses: loosened roof-tiles; tarped-roofs; a fire-scorched roof; cracked-walls; wall-bricks fallen off & stacked; boarded- walls; broken garden-walls; wood-braced garden-walls; wood-braced house-walls; broken-garages; boarded-windows; plastic-covered-windows; black- plastic repaired walls; a demolition-site...
01.12.11. Post quake, fire damaged house, Bowenvale Ave
Nine months post 22 February 2011 Quake most Bowenvale Ave houses I saw were inhabited, but broken-housing owners awaited insurance-payouts so repairs could be done. Council, CERA, EQC, Fletcher Construction & insurers were slow.
Slow EQC wasted years figuring out whether 1 000s of broken-houses were undercap $100 000, worthy of monopoly Fletcher repairs, or overcap $ 100 000 to be shunted by EQC to slow insurers.
Bowenvale Valley controversy: Council had red-stickered some housing, enforcing abandonment, yet CERA hadn't yet zoned the housing. So there was conflict between Council rapid-assessment red-stickering & slow CERA zoning. Home owners were caught in the middle!
Similar conflicts between Council & CERA happened all over Christchurch & in the Port Hills: Avoca Valley, Heathcote Valley, Sumner Valley... Never mind houses on cliff-tops & houses at the bottom of cliffs which were were also rapid-assessed & red-stickered by Council, then had to wait months for CERA's slow zoning.
01.12.11. Post quake, open drain, Bowenvale Ave side
01.12.11. Quake damaged, part repaired house, Bowenvale Ave
01.12.11. Quake damaged, wood braced, garden wall, Oakview Ln / Bowenvale Ave
01.12.11. Post quake, house demolition site, Bowenvale Ave
01.12.11. Quake damaged, tarped garage, Bowenvale Ave
01.12.11. View of housing below Bowenvale Valley bluffs, Bowenvale Ave / Centaurus Rd
Bowenvale Ave checked out on CERA Landcheck website as mostly white-zone land, the rest green-zone land. There were many other while-zone roads in the Port Hills. While CERA dithered awaiting land-reports, citizens waited.
Friday 02.12.11: Advert from a Burnside real-estate agent about a sold three bedroom house at Sevenoaks Dr near us:
"Now's the time to sell.
Yes, highly motivated buyers combined with an acute shortage of comparatively undamaged properties means that many properties are selling extremely well right NOW..."
"Comparatively undamaged properties?" The real estate agent dissembled. Undamaged properties would do me fine.
*Trekked Jeffreys Rd, Bowenvale Ave. 51 snaps.
Coda.
November 2013. Two years later, CERA still hadn't completed Port Hills zoning. Frustrated home-owners would wait all that time while NZ National government did interminable zoning-reviews & more Port Hills zoning-delays due to CERA appealing a High Court judgement. Meanwhile, Council organized its own Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences (GNS) report, differing from CERA-zonings regarding what were lethal land- movements, or not.
Via CERA, all that NZ National government did was usurp Council functions & cause strife. Instead of advising Council about its local government duties, NZ National government interfered in local governance by usurping and / or duplicating many Council functions. NZ National government thus caused bureaucratic growth in EQC, Fletcher, CERA, CCDU & SCIRT.
Despite its Council interference, NZ National government would take two years to produce rebuild house-foundation specifications. National's bright & shiny future?
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Family aghast at being told to go (Stuff Co / The Press).
See Man ignores rockfall warning (Stuff Co / The Press).
See Legal challenges expose hasty process (The Press / Stuff Co).
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