Notice, 'Earthquake Prone Building - Do Not Approach'

This notice is an example of those issued by Wellington City Council to earthquake-prone buildings under section 124 of the Building Act 2004.

‘Earthquake-prone’ is defined as a building with the strength of one-third or less than that required for a new building on that site. (The Act does not cover residential buildings unless they are two or more storeys high and contain three or more household units.) Buildings with less than one-third of the strength of a new building have about 10-20 times the risk of serious damage or collapse in an earthquake. Strengthening such buildings helps protect people from injury. However, being identified as earthquake-prone does not necessarily mean that a building is unsafe for people to be in, but that it will be more at risk in an earthquake.

The notice system begins with a yellow notice which details the requirement that the owner(s) of an earthquake-prone building either strengthens the building by a certain date, or demolishes all or part of it. The deadline is usually between 10 to 20 years, depending on the building’s importance level, age and condition, and critical structural weakness.

As the deadline approaches, if the owner has failed to meet the requirements of the notice but has shown progress towards a solution, the Council issues a ‘final’ notice in orange. As the owner meets the requirements the notice is extended to the next milestone date. If the deadline and strengthening requirements are not finally met, the Council issues a red notice which means that no person can use or occupy the building.

Before the Canterbury earthquake of 22 February 2011 (which caused severe damage and resulted in the loss of 185 lives) Wellington City Council issued these notices on white paper, often framed and displayed inside building foyers - very few people were aware of them. The February earthquake highlighted the need for a more overt system to ensure the public were aware of the process, hence these brightly coloured yellow, orange and red notices which must be displayed in a prominent place in or on the building. It is an offence to deface or remove the notices.

The yellow, orange and red notices are a reminder of the huge impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on New Zealand, particularly on Wellington where everyone expected the next big earthquake to occur. Wellington City Council appears to be the only council to have responded directly to the Canterbury earthquakes in this particular way.