Preliminary observations of the impacts the 22 February Christchurch earthquake had on organisations and the economy

Abstract

On 22 February 2011, Canterbury and its largest city Christchurch experienced its second major earthquake within six months. The region is facing major economic and organisational challenges in the aftermath of these events. Approximately 25% of all buildings in the Christchurch CBD have been “red tagged” or deemed unsafe to enter. The New Zealand Treasury estimates that the combined cost of the February earthquake and the September earthquake is approximately NZ$15 billion [2]. This paper examines the national and regional economic climate prior to the event, discusses the immediate economic implications of this event, and the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations affected by this event. In order to facilitate recovery of the Christchurch area, organisations must adjust to a new norm; finding ways not only to continue functioning, but to grow in the months and years following these earthquakes. Some organisations relocated within days to areas that have been less affected by the earthquakes. Others are taking advantage of government subsidised aid packages to help retain their employees until they can make long-term decisions about the future of their organisation. This paper is framed as a “report from the field” in order to provide insight into the early recovery scenario as it applies to organisations affected by the February 2011 earthquake. It is intended both to inform and facilitate discussion about how organisations can and should pursue recovery in Canterbury, and how organisations can become more resilient in the face of the next crisis.

Short-form version of the Benchmark Resilience Tool (BRT-53)

“…The focus of this paper is on the development and validation of a short-form of the BRT-53. The authors' focus on the BRT-53 as a tool for the measurement of organisational resilience stems from their experience using the tool in the greater Christchurch region following the 2010-2011 series of devastating earthquakes (Kachali, In Press;Stevenson, 2011;Whitman et al, In Press). This deployment of the tool brought to light some challenges of the BRT-53 in its current form as well as opportunities for improvement.…”

Acute Myocardial Infarction and Stress Cardiomyopathy following the Christchurch Earthquakes

“…Although smaller on the Richter scale than the first one, the epicentre of this magnitude 6.3 earthquake was 5 kilometres deep and 10 kilometres southeast of the city centre. It generated a vertical 2.2G force, the highest peak ground acceleration ever recorded in the world [1]. As many as 185 people died with many more injured and left homeless.…”

The State of Healthcare Disaster Plans in New Zealand and the Sultanate of Oman: An International Comparative Analysis

“…It is very likely that the public supply of such essential resources will be disrupted and therefore hospitals and healthcare planners have to be vigilant and plan ahead for such possibilities by developing contingency plans to self-sustain for at least 72 hours until external help can be called in [17]. Lessons from New Zealand's Canterbury earthquakes showed the value of being prepared to sustain long-term outages of life-line utilities such as power and water [18]. During the event, extra generators maintained emergency healthcare services at Christchurch Hospital despite the outage of main power supplies.…”