Geotechnical reconnaissance of the 2010 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake
2010
On 4 September 2010, a magnitude M
w
7.1 earthquake struck the Canterbury region on the South Island
of New Zealand.
The epicentre of the earthquake was located in the Darfield area about 40 km west of
the city of Christchurch.
E
xtensive damage was inflicted to lifelines and residential houses due to
widespread liquefaction and lateral spreading in areas close to major s
treams, rivers and wetlands
throughout Christchurch and Kaiapoi.
U
nreinforced masonry buildings
also suffered extensive damage
throughout the region. Despite the severe damage to infrastructure and residential houses, fortunately, no
deaths occurred and on
ly two injuries were reported in this earthquake. From an engineering viewpoint,
one may argue that the most significant aspects of the 2010 Darfield Earthquake were
geotechnical in
nature, with liquefaction and lateral spreading being the principal cu
lpri
ts for the inflicted damage.
Following the earthquake, a
n intensive
geotechnical reconnaissance was conducted
to capture evidence
and perishable data from this event.
The surveys were performed on foot, by car and from a helicopter
over a period of six da
ys. A broad
-
brush field reconnaissance was conducted in the first two days,
followed by pin
-
point investigations at specific locations including detailed site inspections and field
testing using: Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCPT), Swedish Weight Soundin
g (SWS), and Spectral
An
alysis of Surface Waves (SASW).
This paper summarizes the observations and preliminary findings from this early reconnaissance work
.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
0
References
96
Citations
NaN
KQI