Demolition Contractors Ask for a Larger Role in Disaster Planning

Photo courtesy of Ward Demolition Co.

Local contractor Ward Demolition brings down an unsafe building.

Courtesy of Ward Demolition Co.

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Demolition experts say one of the lessons learned in the ongoing recovery efforts after the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, is that contractors should have more involvement in emergency preparedness.

Meeting on March 23-26 in San Diegoin a state that potentially has much to learn from the New Zealand experiencethe National Demolition Association (NDA) released a six-point guide to improve disaster recovery and preparedness. "There were a lot of good takeaways that we can apply in California," says Stephen Sellers, assistant secretary with the California Emergency Management Agency.

However, NDA representatives questioned whether governments in disaster-prone areas are fully prepared. "There is no doubt in my mind that a major earthquake in a highly urbanized area will be the ultimate test for any city, state or the U.S. government," says Mark Loizeaux, president of Phoenix, Md.-based Controlled Demolition Inc.

While Christchurch experienced a magnitude-6.3 quake, relatively low on the Richter scale, its shallow depth and the area's sandy soil led to the second-highest level of peak ground acceleration ever recorded, second only to the 2011 quake in Fukushima, Japan.

"I was not prepared for what I saw in Christchurch," says John Weber, retired president of ICONCO/LVI Demolitions Services, Oakland. In March 2011, Weber was part of a team assembled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist the New Zealand government with recovery. Christchurch was virtually shut down. The entire central business district of 1,000 city blocks was fenced off and restricted, he says.

While 1,200 commercial buildings have been demolished to date, a large chunk of the central business district is still off-limits and several hundred more commercial buildings and thousands of residences wait to be demolished.

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Demolition Contractors Ask for a Larger Role in Disaster Planning