Concerns about safety and repair cost of earthquake-prone buildings

There are about 1,300 marais across Motu, and many of the buildings on them are over 50 years old. Photo: Supplied / Tūkorehe Marae

There is concern about the future of many marais buildings, with 70 percent likely to be vulnerable to earthquakes within the next 20 years.

One expert worries that many people are unaware of the risks, while others are concerned about how to pay for upgrades.

There are about 1,300 marais across Motu, and many of the buildings on them are more than half a century old.

A new law for earthquake-prone buildings, introduced five years ago, requires all structures to be surveyed by local councils.

But Massey University professor Reagan Butangarwa was concerned that many communities and Marais were not aware of the changes, or the need for an engineer report and seismic assessment by 2026.

“I suspect there are a lot of Marai committees that don’t know what to do. They have received messages from their district council or their local regional authority, telling them that their building or neighborhood is prone to earthquakes and that they are just sitting on it,” said Putangarwa.

“My estimate is that 40 will end up being demolished.”

So far, two marquee buildings have already been demolished due to the risks, but Professor Putangarwa wants to avoid further demolitions, saying the cost was much more than money.

“It is very difficult to rebuild a culture and a time. If you have a 100-year-old marai that is connected to a community, there is no way you can rebuild it. You can rebuild a function but you cannot build a soul,” he said.

The Tūkorehe Marae in Horowhenua is the one who couldn’t stand the seismic reinforcement, but the requirement was low on his priority list.

Iwi Trust spokesperson Lindsay Poutama said they agreed that some buildings would not be raised to standard by the deadline.

“Marina, our tupuna is just like a parent, and sooner or later we have to lose that parent. And we actually had to be willing to accept the loss if there were other things to do,” Putama said. .

The Tūkorehe Marae in Horowhenua accept that they will not seismically strengthen all of their buildings by the deadline. Photo: Supplied / Tūkorehe Marae

When consultations were taking place to change the law in 2013, there was strong opposition to the inclusion of marae. Many applicants wanted an exemption, which was eventually granted for farm buildings.

Instead, marae have been categorized as “priority buildings,” something Putama said is an exaggeration.

“If there was a seismic event strong enough to knock out the pottery, it would wipe out everything else around it anyway. This is our current reality until we have enough money to seismically strengthen it.”

“And we don’t know what the seismic reinforcement actually looks like but we didn’t have the time or the ability or the ability,” he said.

It’s a fate also being assessed at Te Ore Ore Marae in Masterton, whose Wharenui was built in 1935. The county council declared it earthquake-prone in 2017.

Meeting the council’s requirements is a daunting task, said Demetrius Butangaroa, chair of the Marai Commission.

“What we really wanted to know was what are the finer points, or how are they measured to get a full understanding,” Putangarwa said.

A few years ago, the marae received money for upgrades from the Regional Growth Fund – but that only included things like a new roof, not seismic reinforcement.

“We were told we needed to look at steel beam structures, just to add strength to the building. I think we didn’t really know what to expect from earthquake resistance and what those details were,” said Putangarwa.

However, he was confident that Maraih would meet the deadline of 2026.

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