PhD Candidate
Shakti Raj Shrestha
Supervisors
- Dr Caroline Orchiston (Centre for Sustainability/ Otago University)
- Professor Ken Elwood (The University of Auckland)
- Professor David Johnston (Massey University)
- Dr Julia Becker (GNS Science)
Project dates
2018–2021
Brief Abstract
New Zealand is one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world and among its cities, Wellington is highly susceptible to a high magnitude earthquake. As such, a cordon as a secondary disaster management tool is necessary which can have significant impacts after an earthquake. Its significance is observed in its multi layered implications on health and safety, accessibility, housing, law and institutions, socio-cultural fabric and economics, and these impacts are felt across the whole of the city and beyond. These impacts have been illustrated after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Wellington too, established partial cordons around damaged buildings in the CBD after the Kaikōura earthquake in November 2016 but there were many issues regarding it. As such there is a need to understand cordons such that it could be incorporated within the disaster management cycle before an earthquake occurs. The Wellington Cordon Project (research) has an overarching objective to create a systematic understanding of cordons and to generate necessary knowledge to support planning and management of cordons to reduce the adverse impacts on the Wellington CBD and encourage resilience of the city. The main research question addresses the development of an effective cordon planning and management framework. This will assist relevant stakeholders to make informed decisions, if and when a cordon needs to be established