Posts by Lilith __
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Chch Council urgently changes rules so "earthquake-prone" buildings now have to comply 66% with Building Code rather than previous 33%. I presume 100% is considered too hard?
That sounds bad on the face of it, but I'm guessing retrofitting old buildings to comply with current codes might require rebuilding them from the ground up. If we want heritage buildings to stay, we may have to accept they won't be as safe as new ones.
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the CCC are up for rebuilding Bexley, built on wetland/sand.
This ain't lightning we're talking about, it's an earth quake and a proven liqefaction zone. Dumb de dumb dumb dumb.OTOH, having already suffered liquefaction, Bexley's subsoil is perhaps now well-compacted and much safer?
There's an interesting .pdf here which maps liquefaction potentials over the whole city. There are, depending on groundwater conditions at the time of a quake, a lot of parts of Chch which are vulnerable to liquefaction. And by the sound of it, there are things that can be done to mitigate some of the risks.
Having said that, I always thought subdividing Bexley was barmy, and I don't think I'd buy a house there.
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The old, solid-looking stone Arts Centre broke, and the new, delicate and glassy Art Gallery seemed untroubled.
Sure makes you wonder about brick and block being described as "permanent materials", huh. I'm guessing real estate agents will have to come up with some other term...like "excitingly explodable", or, "converts easily to rubble". :-)
Rich, Islander, Gio: LOL.
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David and Jen have just received the coveted green sticker for their house
Gold star!
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I think the actual instructions are brace yourself in the doorway. Sitting would be good. I think a lot of people might be holding onto someone else (partner, kids), so back to one side of the door and feet pushing against the other side would be smart.
Yeah - on Saturday morning I don't know that bracing in a doorway was really an option. The ground was rippling and I could feel different bits of the house swaying and jerking in different directions simultaneously. The reason you sit, crouch, or hang on, is that balancing isn't an option anymore.
He said even dropping out of bed onto the floor beside it would be enough to save you from falling beams, ceilings.
If I'd dropped out of bed one way I would have got hit by a heavy mirror, and the other way I would have got hit by a falling bookcase. The great thing about doorways is that they are away from falling objects as well as windows.
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I heard an expert on Radio yesterday saying the doorway was the best place to be, and then on TV another expert saying it was a bad place as you can be thrown about and hit...
During Saturday's quake I was gripping my doorframe with both hands. Everything moves at such a time, so you can see why holding on to the firmest (and least likey to topple) thing is a good idea.
I read here that near the epicentre on Saturday morning the force of the earthquake was 1.25 times the force of gravity.
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It's hard to feel sad when you're wielding a chainsaw, I've always found.
Chainsaws are also very effective against zombies. Keep yours to hand.
They've calculated they can sleep through aftershocks up to around 4.5, 4.6.
What seismic connoisseurs we are becoming, here in Chch!
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something to ground me and I thought Tai chi would be perfect
Tai chi makes a big thing about feeling connected to the earth, lowering the body's centre of gravity, and relaxing the body to feel the strength of the ground firm beneath you.
To all of which on Saturday I was thinking "HAH!"
My relationship with the ground has become less trusting and more coldly formal!
But doing the tai chi made me feel better anyhow. :-)
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I was actually thinking that all this media, including social, isn't very good for people as it acts as a feedback loop.
Social media has been a big help to me in the last few days, not so much the TV and newspaper coverage which scares the crap out of me every time! Certainly something to be said for limiting exposure to the more sensational stuff, but sharing information and experiences is good for the mental health. Or it's been good for mine, anyhow. Also helpful has been distracting myself with DVDs, books, short walks, tai chi on the lawn, anything that changes the focus, even for a little while.
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There seems to be dodgy email advice doing the rounds, on the so-called "triangle of life". It's de-bunked here, but to summarise: putting yourself beside something rather than under it makes you vulnerable to falling objects and flying debris.
In the event of an entire building collapsing there are sometimes voids created by the crushing of furniture but these are unpredictable and because all objects move in a big quake they can easily crush you if you're beside them. That's why it's "duck, cover, and *hold on*".
The advice we've always been given to stand in a doorway or take cover under a table is still the best.