18.1 Introduction

The Canterbury earthquakes – a human tragedy in which 185 people lost their lives and severe damage was caused to the built environment – occurred near to and within the city of Christchurch, New Zealand in 2010 and 2011. Eighteen people died in one building (PGC) and 115 in another (CTV). A further 42 people died from the failure of other buildings and many more were injured. A further 10 people lost their lives for reasons not related to building failure, including rock falls.