More than 200 buildings in Christchurch have been closed at short notice because they fail to meet the new earthquake building code.
Figures issued on Tuesday by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) show 224 buildings have been closed because they pose a risk to the safety of the public occupying the building.
The authority says the risks range from building collapse or danger from another neighbouring structure.
All commercial and multi-unit buildings in Christchurch require a Detailed Engineering Evaluation: so far 10,156 buildings have been identified as requiring one.
Of these, 3014 evaluations have been returned to CERA and 2089 have been processed. From that group, 224 buildings have been identified as being a risk to public safety..
