DAMAGE TO NON-STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS AND CONTENTS IN 2010 DARFIELD EARTHQUAKE

This paper describes the performance of (or damage to) non-structural components and contents in buildings during the 4th September 2010 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks. Even in buildings with little damage to their structural systems, non-structural and content damages were significant; and these damages were reported to have increased during the aftershocks (especially those of magnitude 5 and higher). Most commonly damaged non-structural components were brick chimneys, parapets, ceilings, facades, internal walls and windows. The nature and extent of damages in each of these components are discussed in this paper with the help of typical damage photos taken after the earthquake. The extent of content damage in a building was dependent on its usage; typically buildings using racks/shelves for displaying commodities (such as library, departmental stores, liquor shops etc) suffered significantly greater loss from content damage than residential houses, office buildings and other types of commercial buildings.