Liquefaction review delayed

Civil Defence Emergency Management manager Ian Macdonald says difficulties collecting data had helped to slow the project.

A major review of liquefaction risks in Hawke's Bay is expected to be released to the public later this year.

The project will focus on how susceptible the region is to liquefaction, which is the process of loose soil acting like a liquid or quicksand during a severe earthquake. It was a significant problem in Christchurch, due to the Canterbury Earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

The Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group is co-ordinating the project, with funding from the Natural Hazards Research Platform, the Earthquake Commission, GNS Science, and the region's five councils.

The results are expected to enable improvements to current liquefaction susceptibility maps for the region, including developing options to improve Hawke's Bay's resiliency to liquefaction during earthquakes.

Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management's group manager, Ian Macdonald, said the project was planned for release early this year, but had been delayed a few months.

"The main reason for the delay is the difficulties collecting data and the complexity of the modelling work," he said.

"We want to make sure this information is as accurate as possible, so it's important we don't rush it."

He said the plan was now to publicly release the review findings in October.