The September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand resulted in significant ground excitations that caused severe geotechnical effects and widespread structural damage. This extensive paper outlines the various forms of damage to different types of engineered timber structures, including timber water tanks.
Most of the damage resulted from lateral spreading and high levels of horizontal and vertical ground acceleration. Engineered timber structures generally performed well both for life safety and serviceability, with most buildings ready for occupation within a short time following the events. Although there are currently only a small number of these structures in the region, more are likely to be built in the future.
The seismic design of future timber structures will be influenced by the lessons learned from the Christchurch earthquakes.
Click here to view the pdf of the 400 page document: PERFORMANCE OF ENGINEERED TIMBER
STRUCTURES IN THE CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKES