The Leys Institute in St Marys Bay is among the latest buildings in Auckland to be classed as earthquake prone. Photograph by Adele Krantz, supplied

Revealed: 5 more Auckland buildings quake-prone

Author: Isaac Davison, NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2018, 2:43PM

Five more public buildings in Auckland have been identified as earthquake prone by the Auckland Council.

They are the Grey Lynn Library and Community Hall, Leys Institute Gymnasium and Leys Institute Library and Community Hall in St Marys Bay, Studio One Toi Tu in Grey Lynn, and a toilet block on Great North Road.

Seismic assessments found they were below 34 per cent of the new building standard, which means they are regarded as earthquake prone.

Auckland Council chief operating officer Dean Kimpton said yellow stickers would be fixed to the buildings but they would not be closed.

"I want to reassure Aucklanders that just because a building is deemed earthquake-prone under the legislation, it does not make it unsafe.

"We are not currently planning on closing any council-owned buildings solely as a result of a seismic assessment.

"Our buildings remain open for business to serve our communities."

The buildings would have to be upgraded, though the council has a 35-year deadline because Auckland experiences a very low frequency of quakes.

Kimpton said the council would first address any non-structural parts of the buildings like chimneys or awnings that could pose a risk in a seismic event.

That could mean changes to the layout of some of the buildings.

Staff who worked at the yellow-stickered buildings were told of the seismic risk this morning and they will be trained in earthquake response exercises.

Law changes last year required building owners in Auckland to upgrade earthquake-prone structures within 35 years, or 45 years for heritage buildings.

The council has completed seismic risk assessment for 59 out of its 2000 buildings so far, and has prioritised buildings which are known to be at risk.

It expected to complete assessments of the at-risk buildings by 2021.

Three places in Auckland have already been yellow-stickered. They are the Victoria Theatre in Devonport and toilet blocks in Sandringham Rd Reserve and Bellwood Ave, Mt Eden.

In higher-risk areas like Napier, Wellington and Christchurch, the deadline for bringing risky buildings up to code is 15 years.

In medium-risk areas, including Hamilton, Nelson, and Invercargill, the deadline is 25 years.