Transport infrastructure performance and management in the South Island of New Zealand, during the first 100 days following the 2016 Mw 7.8 “Kaikōura” earthquake

Alistair J Davies,James Thompson,Rudolph Kotze,Briony Fanslow,Prakash Ranjitkar,Daniel Headifen,Daniel R Troitino,Danielle Barnhill,Seosamh B Costello,Thomas Wilson,Stuart Woods,Vinod Sadashiva,Matthew Hughes,Mohammad Aghababaei,Janelle Mackie,Liam M Wotherspoon

doi:10.5459/bnzsee.50.2.271-299

Abstract

At 00:02 on 14th November 2016, a Mw 7.8 earthquake occurred in and offshore of the northeast of the South Island of New Zealand. Fault rupture, ground shaking, liquefaction, and co-seismic landslides caused severe damage to distributed infrastructure, and particularly transportation networks; large segments of the country’s main highway, State Highway 1 (SH1), and the Main North Line (MNL) railway line, were damaged between Picton and Christchurch. The damage caused direct local impacts, including isolation of communities, and wider regional impacts, including disruption of supply chains. Adaptive measures have ensured immediate continued regional transport of goods and people. Air and sea transport increased quickly, both for emergency response and to ensure routine transport of goods. Road diversions have also allowed critical connections to remain operable. This effective response to regional transport challenges allowed Civil Defence Emergency Management to quickly prioritise access to isolated settlements, all of which had road access 23 days after the earthquake. However, 100 days after the earthquake, critical segments of SH1 and the MNL remain closed and their ongoing repairs are a serious national strategic, as well as local, concern. This paper presents the impacts on South Island transport infrastructure, and subsequent management through the emergency response and early recovery phases, during the first 100 days following the initial earthquake, and highlights lessons for transportation system resilience.

Highlights

New Zealand is located on a tectonic plate boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates
This paper presents the impact of the 14th November 2016 Mw 7.8 earthquake on South Island transport infrastructure, and subsequent management through the emergency response and early-recovery phases, up until the 21st February 2017, 100 days after the initial event
This paper presents the impact of the 14th November 2016 Mw 7.8 earthquake on South Island transport infrastructure, and subsequent management through the emergency response and recovery phases, up until 21st February 2017, 100 days after the initial earthquake

Summary

Introduction

New Zealand is located on a tectonic plate boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates. The country exists because of this complex plate boundary; a subduction zone, along the east coast of the North Island, terminates northeast of the South Island, where it transitions into mostly strike-slip faults in the Marlborough and Alpine Fault regions (Figure 1). At 00:02 on 14th November 2016, a Mw 7.8 earthquake occurred in the Marlborough area, resulting in two fatalities and 57 injured persons [1]. At least 21 faults ruptured on and offshore of the north-east of the South Island of New Zealand (Figure 2) [2]. Initial estimates suggest between 80,000 and 100,000 landslides were triggered by the earthquake, within an area of 10,000 km, with most of the co-seismic landslides located within an area of 3,600 km (Figure 2) [1]. Five landslides were more than 1,000,000 m3 in size, and 50 large landslide dams were identified [1, 4]

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Conclusion