Church deemed quake risk

Parishioners of a Westport church will continue to attend mass there, despite learning the building is high earthquake risk. An initial evaluation assessment found the 37-year-old St Canice's Catholic Church was only 18 per cent compliant with the New Building Standards, said Father Raymond Soriano. This gave it a grade E rating, the lowest possible and meant it was 25-40 times more liable to collapse in a quake than a 100 per cent compliant building. More