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Report finds NZ quake building was too weak
Source: Agencies |
February 10, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SIX-STORY building that collapsed and killed 115 people in last year's New Zealand earthquake was made of weak columns and concrete and did not meet standards when it built, the government said yesterday.
But the building's designer contested the findings and said the report itself was "technically inadequate."
The report could open the door to legal claims by victims' families and police are considering whether to open a criminal investigation.
The Canterbury Television (CTV) building collapsed when the magnitude-6.1 earthquake shook Christchurch last February 22, and its collapse accounted for nearly two-thirds of the quake's 184 victims.
New Zealand's Department of Building and Housing concluded that the building didn't meet minimum requirements when it was built in 1986 - and would fall far short of standards now.
The report is the first to find construction flaws in a building that collapsed during the earthquake.
Brian Kennedy, whose wife Faye died in the CTV collapse, said the report helps give him at least some sense of closure.
"It gives me a feeling that I understand exactly what happened, and that, thank God, it didn't happen to other buildings," he said.
New Zealand police say they are considering whether to launch a criminal investigation.
The building department concluded that load-bearing concrete columns were reinforced with insufficient steel, and that their asymmetrical layout placed extra strain on them during the quake.
Alan Reay Consultants, which carried out the building's initial structural design, disagreed with the report.
"I have huge empathy for the families waiting for answers, but these reports are technically inadequate," said Alan Reay, the company's director.
But the building's designer contested the findings and said the report itself was "technically inadequate."
The report could open the door to legal claims by victims' families and police are considering whether to open a criminal investigation.
The Canterbury Television (CTV) building collapsed when the magnitude-6.1 earthquake shook Christchurch last February 22, and its collapse accounted for nearly two-thirds of the quake's 184 victims.
New Zealand's Department of Building and Housing concluded that the building didn't meet minimum requirements when it was built in 1986 - and would fall far short of standards now.
The report is the first to find construction flaws in a building that collapsed during the earthquake.
Brian Kennedy, whose wife Faye died in the CTV collapse, said the report helps give him at least some sense of closure.
"It gives me a feeling that I understand exactly what happened, and that, thank God, it didn't happen to other buildings," he said.
New Zealand police say they are considering whether to launch a criminal investigation.
The building department concluded that load-bearing concrete columns were reinforced with insufficient steel, and that their asymmetrical layout placed extra strain on them during the quake.
Alan Reay Consultants, which carried out the building's initial structural design, disagreed with the report.
"I have huge empathy for the families waiting for answers, but these reports are technically inadequate," said Alan Reay, the company's director.
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