This fact sheet compiled by the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand has useful explanations of some of the effects of the quake, and clarifies a few items that have been puzzled over in the media.
One point made is that earthquake design is about life safety, not buildings being usable afterwards. If the building does not collapse, this is a good result, as lives are saved. Buildings can be replaced.
Did anyone see the "example" that one guy videoed to explain liquefaction, using the silt in his yard and his wheelbarrow? (it is on youtube, I believe.) Made me think of what the concrete people do when they're skimming/smoothing/whatever-it's-called after the concrete's been poured, as the final touch.
Diane
Featuring Wap Spotted, sire of the first Wap Spot 2 grandget in Southern Hemisphere and New Zealand
On the first day God created horses. On the second day He spotted the best ones.
