Five more public buildings in Auckland have been identified as earthquake prone by the Auckland Council.
Public buildings will not be closed simply because they have been deemed earthquake prone, Auckland Council says.
Nine council-owned buildings in Auckland have now been identified as at risk if struck by a moderate earthquake.
As reported by the Herald on Thursday, the Albert-Eden Local Board office in Dominion Rd is the latest after being found to meet only 19 per cent of new building standard requirements.
Other buildings deemed earthquake prone include 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 Victoria Theatre in Devonport.
Yet just because they were quake prone didn't mean they were unsafe, council's general manager building consents Ian McCormick said.
This is because "we are at a low-risk of a moderate earthquake" in Auckland, meaning "council will not be closing buildings solely because of a seismic assessment", he said.
Yet despite the low risk to safety, the need to upgrade the Albert-Eden board office adds to what is threatening to spill into a huge cost for not only Auckland Council, but private property owners.
Law changes brought in last year require building owners in Auckland to upgrade earthquake-prone structures within 35 years, or 45 years for heritage buildings.
Council has so far undertaken seismic risk assessments for only 59 of its 2000 buildings, with the aim of completing the process by 2021.
Like the Albert-Eden board office, earthquake prone buildings in Auckland are typically old brick or stone masonry structures that lack steel or timber reinforcement, McCormick said.
The Herald understands there could be as many as 300 such council-owned buildings across the city.
Dominion Road's Albert-Eden Local Board office is latest building deemed earthquake prone. Photo / Michael Craig
Other buildings may be quake prone if they are built to an early reinforced concrete frame style or because of the nature of their designs, condition, or underlying ground conditions, McCormick said.
McCormick said buildings were deemed earthquake prone and issued a sticker if they met less than 34 per cent of new building standards.
However, those that met less than 20 per cent of new building standards - like the Albert-Eden board office - were issued a separate sticker alerting to the fact they were more quake prone.
Despite this, McCormick said "practically, the two notices really shouldn't be treated any differently".
There were no special actions or more immediate deadline for strengthening for buildings deemed to meet less than 20 per cent of new standards.
He said council staff in each building deemed quake prone would be given "additional guidance" about what to do in the event of an earthquake.
One elected board member working at the Albert-Eden board member earlier told the Herald they were still unclear about how staff and visitors to the building should be managed.
"I asked the question: 'Well, what happens if one of our staff gets spooked by this and says I'm not prepared to work in the building'," the member said.
McCormick said his team would work closely on a case-by-case basis with each staff member, who expressed concern about their safety in a quake prone building.
