The complex job of demolishing dangerous homes on Christchurch's Port Hills has finally begun.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has been working out the best way to bring the dangerous houses down, with many teetering on the edge of cliffs. The job is not an easy or safe task.
Footage from a small drone camera is helping CERA decide what the safest option is to demolish the quake-damaged homes. The pictures give a 360-degree view of the properties.
"We need to take down big, exotic buildings, often with a central low pass but also on land which has been damaged and often near cliffs, and we need to manage all those risks at the same time," says CERA operations manager Brenden Winder.
For the Port Hills houses, the normal method of demolition isn't going to cut it. There are risks diggers and cranes could collapse cliffs. Then, there's the question of what to do with debris pushed off cliffs.
While it's a big job, CERA chief executive Roger Sutton says it is something they can't leave much longer, with residents still living in the area keen to see the dangerous houses gone.
"They are an eyesore," says Mr Sutton. "[Residents] see them as a safety risk, so that's something to think about: how we get those houses down faster rather than slower."
To speed things up the authority is exploring a number of different methods, including using high-pressure water blasters, remote control diggers and, as a last resort, explosives.
Houses were being prepared at red-zoned properties owned by the Crown in Morgans Valley Rd and Avoca Valley Rd, where there is a big risk of rock fall.
Escape routes will be put in place and spotters will be on the lookout for rolling rocks.
More complex demolitions, such as ones on the edge of cliffs, could take up to a year.
3 News
source: newshub archive
