SR327 Structural performance of houses in the Canterbury earthquake series (2019)

This report describes the collection and analysis of survey data on a group of 314 randomly selected houses in Christchurch following the major earthquakes of the Canterbury earthquake series. The random selection process involved the use of the Statistics New Zealand mesh blocks to select approximately 50 mesh blocks. Six adjacent properties in one corner of each mesh block were surveyed.

The survey collected data on the characteristics of the land at the site, the characteristics of the dwelling and the damage sustained for a range of components of the dwelling. An attempt was made to quantify the extent of damage for the later analysis.

The survey results confirmed the anecdotal evidence that timber-framed dwellings generally performed well in that they satisfied the performance criteria of the New Zealand Building Code. That is, they did not collapse under shaking at least equivalent to the ultimate limit state design event. However, damage was widespread, ranging from very minor to quite major.