Shaking up resilience

This Issue This is a part of the Resilience feature

By - , Build 159

The Kaikoura earthquake was a wake-up call for Wellington. With a taste of what’s to come, what is our capital city doing to prepare?

A Wellington suburb. Homeowners are likely to face requirements to strengthen masonry chimneys and effectively brace subfloors.
A Wellington suburb. Homeowners are likely to face requirements to strengthen masonry chimneys and effectively brace subfloors.
All looks calm here, but Wellington faces challenges from climate change and the likelihood of a major earthquake.

IN A BID to make Wellington more resilient in the event of a large earthquake, Wellington City Council is leading an expert group of scientists, academics and business people in a search for threats to the city and how to deal with them.

The group determined that a devastating earthquake, rising sea levels and more intense storms, and social upheaval are the greatest challenges that can – and will – devastate Wellington, if left unchecked.

They also urged the council to consider a range of solutions to increase the city’s resilience. These include new regulations requiring homeowners to secure chimneys, brace and connect subfloor framing, hold down verandas and make it compulsory for new houses to be built with solar panels, emergency water tanks and bike spaces.

Understanding resilience

‘Increasing resilience is about understanding the challenges in Wellington,’ says Mike Mendonca, Chief Resilience Officer at Wellington City Council. ‘Not all the challenges are shocks. Some are stresses, so it’s important we don’t just focus on the big, dramatic events, like earthquakes, but also on the more insidious, slow-burning issues that can be just as damaging.’

None of these shock-type events are especially new to Wellington – the city has been planning for earthquakes, flooding and severe weather for more than a century.

‘For example, our water and transport networks have been designed to mitigate the effects of natural hazards for a long time. Those kinds of existing measures give us a base to work from, but we’re constantly learning new things and finding ways to do better,’ he says.

Three objectives for a stronger city

‘To move forward, we have settled on three goals to ensure Wellingtonians are able to thrive no matter what shocks and stresses are thrown at them,’ Mike says.

Healthy homes, robust infrastructure

The first goal revolves around resilience and infrastructure. ‘We have some specific concerns about the basic unit of resilience for New Zealanders – their home. That involves simple improvements, such as securing unreinforced masonry chimneys and bracing subfloor structures. But closely linked to that is more resilient infrastructure, such as water, sewerage, power, transport and telecommunications. We want buildings and infrastructure that are robust,’ he says.

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Community connectedness

The second goal is to ensure people are better connected with each other.

‘We know from experience that, when people become isolated and disempowered, the distress of a significant shock is greatly exacerbated. However, if they’re engaged and feel part of a community, it greatly increases both individual and collective resilience,’ he says.

‘If we can reduce some of those issues before the shock occurs, we make it less traumatic. So, our second goal is to make sure we give communities the resources and tools they need to make positive connections with each other.’

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Better-informed decision making

The third and final goal involves better decisions.

‘When people are armed with the right knowledge and high-quality information, they are far better equipped to make good decisions,’ he says.

He gives the example of a homeowner deciding on a resilience feature for their property. To find useful information, they need to consult several sources, such as GNS Science, their local council and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

‘We want to make that information more presentable and more readily available. If you want to buy or rent a home in Wellington, we need to make sure you can find information easily. People should be able to learn everything they need to know about their property and living in Wellington with its unique shocks and stresses.’

Response to Kaikoura

The council’s objective of improving the quality of information is not limited to homeowners.

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Learning from damaged commercial buildings

‘If you’re a City Councillor, equally, you need to have information that informs good decisions. As part of that, we’ve instructed the building owners of several commercial buildings in Wellington to provide us with information on the degree of safety of those buildings,’ says Mike.

The move comes as a result of MBIE’s inquiry into the failure of Statistics House during the Kaikoura earthquake. The building was constructed on reclaimed land on the Wellington waterfront in 2005 and should therefore comply with the latest structural performance standards.

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Findings used to identify at-risk buildings

Just weeks into the inquiry, MBIE released preliminary findings and recommendations to the council regarding other potentially at-risk buildings.

‘Buildings made using reinforced concrete frames with precast concrete floor slabs and constructed on soft soils, such as reclaimed land, or on ridge lines may require more attention than has been given so far.

‘We take that seriously and directed building owners to look closely at those buildings and provide us with the information we need to be able to assure the public they are safe.’

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Building owners must provide information

Such requests now carry far more weight than they used to. Before the Kaikoura earthquake, some building owners provided the information voluntarily, but this was not mandated. However, in late 2016, the government passed legislation under urgency that empowers councils to compel buildings owners to comply.

‘Using these powers, we required the owners of 80 buildings around Wellington to provide us with the information we need,’ he says. ‘This is about ensuring our buildings are safe and is an example of the council making sure it has the right information to make informed decisions.’

Several affected buildings were occupied by prominent hotels, government agencies and popular retail outlets in the Wellington CBD. While the tests uncovered earthquake damage, there was no threat to public safety, and it is now up to the building owners to make the repairs.

Global communities add value

Wellington is not the only city attempting to bolster its resilience. In 2014, the city was accepted into 100 Resilient Cities, an international initiative increasing the capacity of communities, businesses and institutions to survive, adapt and grow after chronic stresses and acute shocks.

‘The power of the global network lies in the exchange of knowledge and information. It connects us with 99 other cities, many of which face similar shocks and stresses,’ says Mike. ‘There is a strong Oceania presence, with Sydney, Melbourne, Christchurch and Wellington all members. Because of our similarities and geographic proximity, we spend a lot of time discussing ideas and sharing data.’

‘San Francisco’s Bay Area also has a lot in common with Wellington. Even though it’s on a different scale, the terrain, geography and lifestyle is very similar. We can learn from how they deal with seismic issues, sea level rise and some of their social challenges.’ But some of the greatest value comes from cities that do not appear to have much in common with Wellington.

‘We’ve forged a strong relationship with Rotterdam, for example. The Dutch have been living with the sea for centuries and are experts at understanding how to manage sea level rise,’ he says.

Higher degree of awareness

Mike says it is tempting to look for a silver bullet to solve Wellington’s problems, but there are no simple answers.

‘The Kaikoura earthquake didn’t change the fundamentals of what it means to be resilient in Wellington. What it has done is raise awareness amongst Wellingtonians and all the decision makers, which has given our resilience strategies an enormous boost.’

All looks calm here, but Wellington faces challenges from climate change and the likelihood of a major earthquake.

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A Wellington suburb. Homeowners are likely to face requirements to strengthen masonry chimneys and effectively brace subfloors.
A Wellington suburb. Homeowners are likely to face requirements to strengthen masonry chimneys and effectively brace subfloors.
All looks calm here, but Wellington faces challenges from climate change and the likelihood of a major earthquake.

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