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Comment by EdwardDiego | Hacker News Reader

Given what ChCh went through, I really hope Wellington takes quake-proofing its more risk-prone buildings seriously. I say that every time an earthquake causes damage there, but still the building owners ask for more time and the council gives it.

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A lot more buildings in Wellington are on isolaters. Parliament was retrofitted with them (huge saws cut through the concrete foundation where they were then installed). TePapa has a thing outside the museum where you can go down and see some of them.

Yeah Wellington has always taken it seriously, I remember the building where I worked in 2002 had a sticker on it by the council saying the building wasn't earthquake safe. The buildings here are much more earthquake safe than Christchurch but also the damage potential is much higher.

Great. Do you have a pic of the sticker? I'm moving to Umbria, Italy...

No, it was a while ago. But a google image search showed up one of the ones that they used in Christchurch.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ncu7cINaZiE/TtGHnDoH72I/AAAAAAAAAS...

Thanks.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news/18382/eight_col_xlarge_...

That's the yellow sticker that buildings in Wellington get if they're unsafe but still usable.

> Yeah Wellington has always taken it seriously,

Only sort of. We have the whole dynamic of pushing out the date buildings are supposed to be meeting requirements, and dodgy engineers signing off on buildings that are below target NBS.

Dodgy engineers aren't going to sign off on anything because they are liable for manslaughter in the case of a catastrophe. I used to work for a structural engineering company and had to present evidence at the Royal Commission of Inquiry, engineers (at least all the ones I know) take this very seriously.

Most of the out of date buildings are empty, there are still a few empty buildings around Wellington because they don't meet code.

As far as pushing out the dates, buildings with a big sticker on them saying they are unsafe tend to struggle to find tenants, and when they do the rent has to be very cheap, so most building owners either sell the buildings or strengthen them.

And that's why the property owners have been lobbying the councils to hold off on those big stickers - because then how could they afford to do the work that they'll totally do, within X years, if the rents drop?

That's what I'm referring to, yeah.

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