Latest news and events

December 2011 Special Edition Bulletin on the Observations of the February 2011 Christchurch Earthquake Sequences (updated: 22 Dec 2011)

NZSEE Members can download papers from the Special Edition Bulletin from our archive (Please contact the EO for password).

NZSEE Annual Technical Conference & AGM, 13-15 April 2012, Christchurch

The Society is hosting the 2012 Annual Technical Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The annual NZSEE technical conference gathers researchers and practitioners in the multi-disciplinary field of Earthquake Engineering. The theme of the 2012 conference is:

"Implementing lessons learnt"

The September 2010 Darfield and the February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes have re-emphasized the need for our society to be better prepared for the consequences when (not if) large natural disasters strike. It is time to take some actions and develop a cohesive strategy to implement what we already know to improve our society. To contribute to this long term goal, this conference aims to advance implementation of the lessons learnt from past earthquakes into practice.

The Society invites you to inspect the <First call for Abstract>. For More information, please visit the Conference Website.

Southwest Pacific Earthquake Resilience Workshop, 22 - 24 August Victoria University, Wellington

The Society convened the Southwest Pacific Earthquake Resilience Workshop held in Wellington from the 22 - 24 August. This workshop drew together lessons from recent earthquakes and tsunamis to develop a road map for improved regional resilience. The aim of the workshop was to build regional awareness and consensus on the perceived priorities for improving earthquake resilience in the region over the next 5 years.

Interested parties are invited to inspect the programme and the workshop website. A report of the workshop will be available in 2012.

Design for Post-Earthquake Resilience of Cities: Multidisciplinary Design Ideas Competition Winning Entries

Eight entries were recieved for the competition, they were displayed and judged at the 2011 PCEE Conference. The competition brief is available to view here. The winning entries are presented in the table below.

First Place	Cesar Torres, Schani Siong and Louise Schiller California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo	CITYMAP: Acapulco, Mexico: the City as Map
Runner up	Swee Ngee Low and Simon Berg Krogh Andesite Architects Limited and Superlight ApS, Copenhagen	Seed, Latimer Square, Christchurch
Highly Commended	Kevin Lim, Junho Park and Yosop Ryoo Anarkhos Design	C.E.S. (Civil Evacuation System)
	Emma Buchanan	Pop-out

The remaining entries can be viewed via the following links, entries 9, 13, 20, 21.

2011 Christchurch Earthquake, February 22 at 12:51 pm (2011-02-0 00:51 UTC)

Many Society members are active in the response and recovery from the Christchurch Earthquakes. More information is available at the NZSEE Clearinghouse.

Past major earthquakes

A M7.1 earthquake struck the east of the South Island on Saturday, September 4 at 04:35 (2010-10-03 16:35 UTC). The epicentre was located approximately 40 km west of the Christchurch CBD, at a depth of 10 km. There was widespread damage due to liquefaction in Christchurch and nearby townships, but the only significant structural damage was to unreinforced masonry structures. Canterbury has been in a recovery phase since 16 September.

The NZSEE Clearinghouse has a large number of reports, photographs and other resources about the event. For more information about the Earthquake itself, please visit the GeoNet website.

December 2010 Special Edition Bulletin on the Preliminary Observations of the Darfield (Canterbury) Earthquake Sequence

NZSEE Members can download papers from the Special Edition Bulletin from our archive (Please contact the EO for password).

Additional hard copies of the Special Edition Bulletin are also available for purchase at our secure website.

Reconnaissance teams applications (2010)

The Society maintains a register of members available for Learning from Earthquakes missions after major earthquakes. If you are interested in being considered please download and complete the form. (32kB MSWord)

Building Safety Evaluation in a State of Emergency

The Guidelines for Building Safety Evaluation in a State of Emergency have been revised. The guidelines are to help Building Control Managers within Territorial Authorities to prepare for, implement and manage building structural safety evaluation activities after major earthquakes or other disaster events. They also provide guidance for engineers and others assisting with the process in the field.

... more details

The Society:

Is managed by a 12 member management committee, publishes a quarterly Bulletin of approximately 30 technical papers per annum and hosts a weekend technical conference in April each year.

Interested in joining?

Please read our brochure and complete an application form. If you have any questions please contact our Executive Officer.

Contact:

Please address all correspondence regarding the Society to:

The Executive Officer
PO Box 2193
WELLINGTON New Zealand
Phone and Fax: 64 4 565 3650

Useful links for members:

• Revised guidance on repairing and rebuilding houses affected by the Canterbury earthquake sequence (9 Dec 2011)
• NZSEE Building Safety Evaluation Guidelines (2009) (1.1 MB, PDF)
• NZSEE Assessment and Improvement of the Structural Performance of Buildings in Earthquake (2006) (5.25 MB, PDF)
• The Canterbury Earthquakes: Answers to critical questions about buildings
• Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission - Document library
• Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission - Hearing videos