Earthquake-prone housing complex tested to destruction

A 1950s, four-unit Housing New Zealand building in Upper Hutt is this week being tested to destruction to help inform decisions on the repair and replacement of earthquake-prone buildings.

“This is the first time this destructive earthquake testing has been carried out on a two-storey building in New Zealand,” Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“We need more reliable information about how weak or strong houses of this age are so we can make better informed decisions on their repair and replacement. The building will be subjected to progressively-increased horizontal forces until it fails.

“We are about to embark on a massive programme of earthquake strengthening for more than 150 Housing New Zealand buildings at a cost tens of millions of dollars. This destructive testing enables us to compare actual strength to predicted strength to ensure we make better decisions on maximising safety for tenants while minimising cost to taxpayers.

“The Government’s draft legislative policy is that buildings that are less than 34 per cent of new building standards are deemed earthquake-prone and must be upgraded within 20 years. We are taking a lead in addressing these issues as quickly as possible within Housing New Zealand’s properties.

“The information from this testing will be shared publically. It’s invaluable to all property owners making assessments on the relative strength of older buildings.

“The results of this testing will be available early next year. This will have a significant input into decisions on whether hundreds of older buildings are safe, require strengthening, or need to be demolished and replaced.”