Two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 occurred near Darfield on September 4, 2010 and with a magnitude of 6.3 occurred under Port Hills on February 22, 2011 in Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. Although the 2010 earthquake was much stronger than the 2011 earthquake, the damage to structures by the 2011 earthquake was much heavier. Extensive ground liquefaction occurred in the city of Christchurch and Kaiapoi and heavy damage to buried lifelines and residential houses were caused. The light structures are uplifted while heavy structures sank into the ground. The earthquake caused substantial damage to historical masonry type building in the downtown of Christchurch City. In this article, the authors describe the shaking and ground failure-induced damage to buildings by the 2010 and 2011 Christchurch earthquakes and their lessons. Copyright©2012 IAHS.
