No need to evacuate earthquake-prone buildings, says MBIE

Jericho Rock Archer / Stuff

The Heretaunga building at Hutt Hospital will be evacuated after being declared earthquake-stricken.

Most earthquake-prone buildings can still be occupied during reinforcement work under new government guidelines.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) published new earthquake risk guidelines for buildings on Monday, saying structures exposed to earthquakes do not need to be evacuated. Instead, owners must mitigate earthquake risk through contingency planning and training.

Any structure with a New Building Standard (NBS) less than 34% is considered earthquake risk, while buildings that score below 67% of the standards are classified as at risk of earthquake.

Read more: *Timaru Council urges building owners to take action *Hastings County Council staff to evacuate building at risk of earthquake *Timaru building owner urges others to quickly make earthquake assessments

Kevin Stent / Stuff

Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry Demands Government Commitment to Hutt Hospital After Classified as Earthquake Hazard

Although buildings such as the main office of the Ministry of Education were evacuated because they were prone to earthquakes, there is no legal requirement to close a building due to the low NBS rating.

Dr Dave Giggins, director of building performance and engineering at MBIE, said there was a need to provide guidance on how to interpret seismic assessments, and that the potential for earthquakes is low compared to other hazards.

Complete Beers / Things

MBIE’s Dr. Dave Giggs says the buildings with lower NBS scores were not in imminent danger. (file image)

“It is important that building occupancy decisions take into account the likelihood of an earthquake, the potential consequences of an earthquake, along with temporary mitigation measures that can be put in place to reduce risks.”

He also said that NBS was not an indicator of a building failure in an earthquake, and that buildings with lower NBS scores were not in imminent danger.

“Understanding the relative vulnerability of the various building elements, the potential consequences of failure of these elements, and options for mitigating this risk, is more important than the overall NBS rating of the building.”

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