Christchurch Earthquake

Here's the only before-and-after picture of the Pyne Gould Building that I've found:

It appears that the building lacked lateral strength and pancaked.  But, what do I know? I'm tempted to subscribe to Engineering News Record again, just to follow the investigations.

I read that New Zealand started to modernize their building codes in the 1970s. That seems quite recent, if true. It makes me wonder what the previous codes permitted.