Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 27

Thread: Wellington visit - earthquake-conscious travelling?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    134

    Default Wellington visit - earthquake-conscious travelling?

    I'm from Christchurch, and decided to head to Welly for the weekend with friends to destress a little.

    Now, I've read that Welly has been expecting a big quake for years. Granted there's a relatively small chance of it going off during the 3 days I'll be there, and the whole of NZ is pretty much riddled with faults as well, etc, so I'm going to go with an open mind and just enjoy myself. I AM a little jitterish due to my double Chch experience though. So I thought a little precaution shouldn't hurt.

    So, where should I absolutely avoid going, besides inside the huge old stone heritage buildings and churches? The Town Hall, museum, harbor, shopping district etc, are all relatively modern and safe, right? Are there any minimally-dangerous backpackers that we can stay in?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Waterloo, Lower Hutt
    Posts
    505

    Default

    I suspect the next big one that is due to hit Wellington sometime in the next 300 years will damage most parts of the wider city. Most of the CBD is on reclaimed land and with all the hills and water around Wellington where the quake hits could alter the type of risks and damage that would occur. So other than taking normal safety precautions you would be equally safe in most parts of the city.

    Some buildings also have base isolators installed to reduce their vulnerability (e.g. Te Papa & Parliament Buildings) and the city council public a list of earthquake prone buildings online: http://www.wellington.govt.nz/servic...bldgs-list.pdf

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    134

    Default

    Huh. Why aren't they doing anything about reinforcing those buildings then?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Ōtepoti, Aotearoa
    Posts
    2,736

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by althea View Post
    Huh. Why aren't they doing anything about reinforcing those buildings then?
    Socio-economical and political reasons mainly.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    134

    Default

    So would Wellingtonians (sp?) check that list everytime they enter a building, then? Should I?

    I probably should, but I'd seem like a loony..

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    Yes, you would. Sorry, but I don't think anybody can live their life like this. There are risks with every breath we take - if we were to stop and do an H&S assessment for each potential hazard, we'd never get out of bed, never mind the door, and it would kill off all the joy and spontaneity in existence.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Blenheim
    Posts
    1,620

    Default

    Fully agree, Jand M..., I am someone who can worry about these sort of things, but it is really rather useless to do so! There is not a lot anyone can do to try to prepare for every possible disaster, as we have just seen in the case of Japan! They are very well prepared for an earthquake, but that doesn't really prevented anything when the Tsunami hit!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Manchester > Now Tauranga
    Posts
    4,393

    Default

    All you can and should do is know what to do in an emergency. So have a charged mobile with you, know where to go to in each city you visit in case of emergency, and keep relatives informed of where you are/will be.

    But if you check your list everytime you go into a building I would suggest you're most likely to be run over / die from a papercut which gets infected and leads to gangrene.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Ōtepoti, Aotearoa
    Posts
    2,736

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ralf-nz View Post
    Socio-economical and political reasons mainly.
    I want to elaborate:

    In our society we are always accepting a certain level of risk. Risk here being a combination of probability and consequence.
    On certain issues there is a general agreement in judging how often an incident might occur and how severe it might be. So there is no great discussion in society.
    Other issues have a high potential for controversy. Several spark the interest from time to time. That is what is happening now. This might lead to a change of the evaluation in our risk assessment - or not.

    Reading now recent articles in newspapers there is a consensus that especially heritage buildings are earthquake prone. The public now finally becoming aware of what we always said.
    Should they be reinforced - Yes. At all costs - No!
    So what will the politicians decide after listening(?) to the public and discussing the finances. Can owners (including local authorities!) be forced to upgrade their building so they comply to a higher degree with the current design requirements. Should these parameters perhaps be tightened?

    By the current events the former general consensus is shaken. It remains to be seen on which level a new (or the old one?) will be found!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Manchester > Now Tauranga
    Posts
    4,393

    Default

    If you make it mandatory to strengthen heritage buildings (to modern standards) then you'll find that they are closed to the public, have entrance fees set so high only overseas tourists can afford to go into them, and in some cases the character of them will be ruined by the strengthening. There's a balance to be had. The low probability of a significant shake against the expected outcome.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •