Expert Witness Blog
A building engineering expert says the devastating Christchurch quake was “pretty much a bullseye.” Professor John Wilson, chair of the Australian earthquake loading standard and deputy dean of engineering at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, said the quake struck right at the heart of Christchurch.
“It was so close to Christchurch that we weren’t surprised to see significant damage, at that close range the level of shaking is quite severe.” The magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck at 12.51pm, and strong aftershocks have shaken the city since.”We expected the older buildings with unreinforced masonry to suffer — their masonry is heavy, brittle and vulnerable to earthquake shaking,” Prof Wilson said.
Read more: www.voxy.co.nz