Civil Engineering Association

The Gisborne earthquake of 20 December 2007 provided a timely reminder that it is crucial to quickly evaluate the safety of buildings and determine whether or not they are suitable for occupancy. Gisborne District Council’s actions in response to the earthquake followed the processes defined in the NZSEE Guidelines. These actions served to reassure the community that the Council was in control of the situation and to reduce anxiety amongst owners by providing rapid and authoritative decisions on the safety of their buildings and their suitability for occupation.

The primary aim of this document is to provide territorial authorities with guidance to prepare for and manage effectively a process of structural safety evaluations of damaged buildings. The focus of this document is on the rapid assessment of buildings to be carried out during the period of a state of emergency declared under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002, as may follow a major earthquake or other disaster which affects a significant number of building structures.

The scope of these Guidelines covers the Rapid Assessment of buildings to be carried out during a state of emergency declared under the Civil Defence Emergency Act 2002.
These Guidelines address disaster scenarios where there is extensive damage to buildings (residential, commercial or industrial) and infrastructure (roads, bridges, water supplies, electricity supply, telephone communications etc) over a large area, and people are likely to have been killed and injured, possibly numbering in the hundreds. The focus of this document is for the period from when the initial reconnaissance has been completed until the emergency declaration is lifted. The initial reconnaissance by emergency services and the territorial authority is necessary so that the extent of the problem is understood and areas of major concern have been identified.