Revision of seismic design codes corresponding to building damagesin the “5.12” Wenchuan earthquake

A large number of buildings were seriously damaged or collapsed in the "5.12" Wenchuan earthquake. Based on field surveys and studies of damage to different types of buildings, seismic design codes have been updated. This paper briefly summarizes some of the major revisions that have been incorporated into the "Standard for classification of seismic protection of building constructions GB50223-2008" and "Code for Seismic Design of Buildings GB50011-2001." The definition of seismic fortification class for buildings has been revisited, and as a result, the seismic classifications for schools, hospitals and other buildings that hold large populations such as evacuation shelters and information centers have been upgraded in the GB50223-2008 Code. The main aspects of the revised GB50011-2001 code include: (a) modification of the seismic intensity specified for the Provinces of Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu; (b) basic conceptual design for retaining walls and building foundations in mountainous areas; (c) regularity of building configuration; (d) integration of masonry structures and precast RC floors; (e) requirements for calculating and detailing stair shafts; and (f) limiting the use of single-bay RC frame structures. Some significant examples of damage in the epicenter areas are provided as a reference in the discussion on the consequences of collapse, the importance of duplicate structural systems, and the integration of RC and masonry structures.

Performance of RC buildings after Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes: lessons toward performance based design

Two simultaneous earthquakes occurred in the Kahramanmaraş-Pazarcık and Kahramanmaraş-Elbistan districts of Turkey on February 6,2023,and with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6,respectively.These events caused the highest estimated loss recorded in Turkey within the last century from natural disasters.The key reason for the extensive loss was the proximity of eleven cities to the earthquake epicenters.Middle East Technical University teams investigated the building sites in Gaziantep,Kahramanmaras,Hatay,Adiyaman and Adana.The ground motion recordings revealed that in certain locations of Gaziantep,Kahramanmaraşand Hatay,the ground motion levels exceeded the maximum credible earthquake level defined for a return period of 2,475 years in the Turkish Earthquake Code.Residential building performance was investigated with respect to the construction year,which is a good indicator of compliance with modern seismic codes and inspection procedures.About 97%of the collapsed buildings were constructed prior to 2000,whereas over 5,000 buildings,which were built after 2000,collapsed or required urgent demolition.Most of the buildings with minor or greater structural damage sustained heavy infill wall damage rendering occupancy impossible.Aside from damage in older construction with significant structural deficiencies,the damage in some of the more recent and better constructed buildings was observed to be surprisingly poor.This can be attributed to the level of ground motion,significant ductility demands,poor material and workmanship and damage to non-structural elements.With the estimated total loss of above 100 billion dollars and over 50,000 casualties,the current seismic design criterion based on ductility and acceptance of structural damage should be re-evaluated to ensure a more resilient urban environment in high seismic regions.

Impact of intensity and loss assessment following the great Wenchuan Earthquake

The great Wenchuan Earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008 in the Sichuan Province of China, and had a magnitude of 8.0. It is the most serious earthquake disaster in China since the great Tangshan Earthquake （Ms=7.8, July 28, 1976）. According to official reports, there were 69,225 deaths, 379,640 injuries and 17,939 missing as of Aug. 11, 2008. The China Earthquake Administration quickly sent hundreds of experts to the field immediately after the event, to investigate the damage and assess the economic losses. This paper emphasizes the impact of seismic intensity and presents a preliminary loss assessment. A brief description of the geological features of the affected region is provided, followed by a summary of the earthquake damage. An isoseismal map is developed that shows that the high intensity region is distributed like a belt around the seimogenic fault, and that the epicentral intensity reached Ⅺ （Chinese Intensity Scale, similar to the Modified Mercalli Scale）. The direct economic loss resulting from the earthquake is 692 billions RMB （about 100 billions US$）.

Earthquake damage and loss estimation with Geographic Information System

The present paper first includes a brief discussion of GIS technology. Next, the various steps in a regional earthquake damage and loss analysis are discussed, with emphasis on their implementation in the GIS environment. Lastly, a software of WorldRisk which was completed recently are presented to illustrate GIS based global earthquake damage and loss estimation.

Development of damage probability matrices based on Greek earthquake damage data

A comprehensive study is presented for empirical seismic vulnerability assessment of typical structural types, representative of the building stock of Southern Europe, based on a large set of damage statistics. The observational database was obtained from post-earthquake surveys carried out in the area struck by the September 7, 1999 Athens earthquake. After analysis of the collected observational data, a unified damage database has been created which comprises 180,945 damaged buildings from/after the near-field area of the earthquake. The damaged buildings are classified in specific structural types, according to the materials, seismic codes and construction techniques in Southern Europe. The seismic demand is described in terms of both the regional macroseismic intensity and the ratio αg/ao, where αg is the maximum peak ground acceleration （PGA） of the earthquake event and ao is the unique value PGA that characterizes each municipality shown on the Greek hazard map. The relative and cumulative frequencies of the different damage states for each structural type and each intensity level are computed in terms of damage ratio. Damage probability matrices （DPMs） and vulnerability curves are obtained for specific structural types. A comparison analysis is fulfilled between the produced and the existing vulnerability models.

Earthquake risk assessment for Istanbul metropolitan area

The impact of earthquakes in urban centers prone to disastrous earthquakes necessitates the analysis of associ- ated risk for rational formulation of contingency plans and mitigation strategies.In urban centers,the seismic risk is best quantified and portrayed through the preparation of'Earthquake Damage and Loss Scenarios.'The components of such scenarios are the assessment of the hazard,inventories and the vulnerabilities of elements at risk.For the development of the earthquake risk scenario in Istanbul,two independent approaches,one based on intensities and the second on spectral displacements,are utilized.This paper will present the important features of a comprehensive study,highlight the method- ology,discuss the results and provide insights to future developments.

Experimental validation of a signal-based approach for structural earthquake damage detection using fractal dimension of time frequency feature

This article extends a signal-based approach formerly proposed by the authors, which utilizes the fractal dimension of time frequency feature （FDTFF） of displacements, for earthquake damage detection of moment resist frame （MRF）, and validates the approach with shaking table tests. The time frequency feature （TFF） of the relative displacement at measured story is defined as the real part of the coefficients of the analytical wavelet transform. The fractal dimension （FD） is to quantify the TFF within the fundamental frequency band using box counting method. It is verified that the FDTFFs at all stories of the linear MRF are identical with the help of static condensation method and modal superposition principle, while the FDTFFs at the stories with localized nonlinearities due to damage will be different from those at the stories without nonlinearities using the reverse-path methodology. By comparing the FDTFFs of displacements at measured stories in a structure, the damage-induced nonlinearity of the structure under strong ground motion can be detected and localized. Finally shaking table experiments on a 1：8 scale sixteen-story three-bay steel MRF with added frictional dampers, which generate local nonlinearities, are conducted to validate the approach.

Consequences on the Urban Environment in Greece Related to the Recent Intense Earthquake Activity

Past earthquake disasters in Greece, during the last thirty years, demonstrate that the severity of destruction is not only due to the intensity of the seismic event but also to the urbanization of the affected region and the vulnerability of certain types of buildings. Considerable damage was sustained by both old unreinforced masonry structures as well as by relatively new multistory reinforced concrete structures with ＂soft story＂ at their ground floor level. The most important observations made during six past earthquake disasters are presented in a summary form and discussed. The most remarkable case of extensive structural damage was caused from the resent Athens 1999 earthquake. The consequent discussion focuses on the following issues： （1） Classification of structural damage and their underlying causes. （2） Repair and strengthening of damaged structures. （3） Upgrade the seismic design. （4） Plans for earthquake preparedness. （5） Assessing the vulnerability of certain type of structures （schools, hospitals, public buildings etc）. （6） Education specialized in earthquake engineering. （7） The enrichment of the strong motion data base.

Field survey around strong motion stations and its implications on the seismic intensity in the Lushan earthquake on April 20,2013

The Ms7.0 Lushan earthquake on April 20, 2013 is another destructive event in China since the Ms8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 and Ms7.1 Yushu earth- quake in 2010. A large number of strong motion recordings were accumulated by the National Strong Motion Obser- vation Network System of China. The maximum peak ground acceleration （PGA） at Station 51BXD in Baoxing Country is recorded as -1,005.3 cm/s2, which is even larger than the maximum one in the Wenchuan earthquake. A field survey around three typical strong motion stations confirms that the earthquake damage is consistent with the issued map of macroseismic intensity. For the oscillation period 0.3-1.0 s which is the common natural period range of the Chinese civil building, a comparison shows that the observed response spectrums are considerably smaller than the designed values in the Chinese code and this could be one of the reasons that the macroseismic intensity is lower than what we expected despite the high amplitude of PGAs. The Housner spectral intensities from 16 stations are also basically correlated with their macroseismic intensities, and the empirical distribution of spectral intensities from Lushan and Wenchuan Earthquakes under the Chinese scale is almost identical with those under the European scale.

Comparison of strong-motion records and damage implications between the 2014 Yunnan M_S6.5 Ludian earthquake and M_S6.6 Jinggu earthquake

Serial destructive earthquakes have caused heavy casualties and economic losses to the city in southwestern of China. The Ludian Ms 6.5 earthquake and the Jinggu Ms 6.6 earthquake occurred in Yunnan province in 2014. There is a question of why the two events with almost the same level of magnitude caused differences in earthquake damage. To understand the uniqueness of the phenomenon, this paper focuses on the characteristics of the ground motions and post-earthquake field investigation for the two events. Firstly, we present an overview of the residuals between the Ludian earthquake and the Jinggu earthquake based on the YW06 Ground Motion Prediction Equation （GMPE）, and explain the unusual destructiveness of the strong ground motion. Then we analyze the ground motion recordings at selected typical station, based on the strong motion parameters： equivalent predominant frequency and Arias intensity. The result exhibits a good agreement with the Chinese seismic intensity scale. This study would be helpful to gain a better knowledge of the characteristics and variability of ground motions for Ms6 class earthquakes in China and to understand the implications to future earthquakes with similar focal mechanism and local condition.

Nucleation of earthquakes and its implication to precursors

The recent argument about nucleation phase of earthquakes reminds us to completely study the concept of earthquake nucleation. The original meaning of nucleation includes concentration, nucleation and initiation of the eruptive processes. Thus, it is needed to discuss how to exactly translate the word 'nucleation' into Chinese in different fields. The basic concept of earthquake nucleation refers to microcrack concentration in rock. It causes local weakening and instability of the rock. The narrow sense of nucleation theory of friction constitutive is significant in friction of fault surfaces, but should not abuse everywhere unconditionally. In terms of thermodynamics, nucleation actually means the variety processes of multiple state parameters of rock. The nucleation is a project that covers multiple courses. In this paper, the studies of damage theory, fracture, earthquake rupture dynamics and constitutive of friction and their implication to earthquake nucleation are remarked. The recently developments are introduced, including the influence of tectonic on the earthquake nucleation process, the method of measuring medium anisotropy, especially shear wave splitting led by concentration and orientation of microcracks. and the experimental study of remote sensing of infrared and microwave radiation related to the nucleation, etc. This paper also discusses the characteristic of large earthquake nucleation, and the implication of above studies to precursors of Strong earthquakes.

Application of fuzzy theory on earthquake damage rate estimation of buildings

Variations between earthquakes result in many factors that influence post-earthquake building damage(e.g.,ground motion parameters,building structure,site information,and quality of construction).Consequently,it is necessary to develop an appropriate building damage-rate estimation model.The building damage survey data were recorded and constructed into files by the Architecture and Building Research Institute(ABRI),Taiwan for the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in the Nantou region as a basis for developing a building damage rate estimation model by applying fuzzy theory to express the fragility curves of buildings as a membership function.Empirical verification was performed using post-earthquake building damage data in the Taichung city that suffered relatively severe damage.Results indicate that fuzzy theory can be applied to predict building damage rates and that the estimated results are similar to actual disaster figures.Prediction of disaster damage using building damage rates can provide a reference for immediate disaster response during earthquakes and for regular disaster prevention and rescue planning.

Damage of 1975 Haicheng M_s7.3 earthquake in the Korean Peninsula and its effect on Kyushu,Japan

The 1975 Haicheng Ms7.3 earthquake affected whole Korean Peninsula and even Kyushu, Japan. In this paper isoseismal map of this earthquake was drawn for these areas by sorting out and analyzing data systematically collected, furthermore, the characteristics of the earthquake damage were discussed. In the northern Korean Peninsula, the intensity is V in great majority of this area except local area with intensity VI, and the damage is basically in accordance with typical characteristics of corresponding intensity grade. In the southern Korean Peninsula, the intensity is IV in large part of the area, however, in some big cities such as Seoul etc., not only high buildings shook strongly, but also some people appeared perceptions such as feeling dizzy and so on, and electrical service was interrupted on one or two districts because of transformer tripping. These phenomena could be caused by the effect of long-period wave generated from a large earthquake on far-field.

Information system for emergence decision on the protection against earthquake and disaster reduction in Shanghai City──Application of GIS

For meeting the need of rapid development of economy in Shanghai and the protection against earthquake and disaster reduction in the mega city, it is necessary to build a information system for emergence decision on the protection against earthquake and disaster reduction in the city. In this paper, GIS is applied to 'the information system for emergence decision on the protection against earthquake and disaster reduction in Shanghai City (Baoshan experiment region)'. We introduce to the structure and effect of each functional module in this information system. This information system consists of 7 functional modules:background information of seismology and geology, subsystem for rapid evaluation of damage loss from earthquake, subsystem for the decisive information on earthquake emergence, information query, maintenance and management of system, help, quit. The key parts of this information system are the subsystem for rapid evaluation of damage loss from earthquake and the subsystem for the decisive information on earthquake emergence. Also, this paper introduces to the application of technology of color infra-red aerial photograph remote sensing to this information system.

Determination of the Scale of Damage in the Wastewater Tunnels Due to Earthquake： A Case Study

The pre-determination of the effect of earthquake in subsurface structures is gaining importance increasingly. One of the main factors in determination of the damages due to earthquakes in subsurface structures, especially tunnels are horizontal acceleration value. The aim of the study is to put forward the scale of damage due to earthquake in a wastewater tunnel in Istanbul, the most populated city of Turkey, under construction. Possible damage caused by earthquake will be determined by utilizing the information about the route of the wastewater tunnel analyzed in the study.

Investigation of the Shandan M_S7.3 Earthquake Damage in 1954

On February 11, 1954, an earthquake with Ms7.3 occurred in Shandan county of Hexi corridor,West China. It was the first great earthquake in northwest China after 1949. The earthquake left 47 people dead, 332 people injured and tens of thousands of people homdess; nearly 7277 buildings were damaged or collapsed and the property loss was more than one billion Yuan （RMB） at a rough estimate. In the meizoseismal area, the intensity was Ⅺ, the Hongsihu basin and Shandan County was the most serious damage, and in Shandan, the earthquake-stricken area was 4800 km^2 . In the paper, a brief introduction is presented to the Shandan earthquake, induding the basic parameters, distribution of seismic intensity and natural environment. The characteristics of building destruction are particularly discussed, the earthquake disaster distribution features and economic loss evaluation are also analysed. Finally, causes of the earthquake damage, experiences and lessons as well as implications of protection against earthquake and disaster reduction are summed up.

Study on the Uncertainty of Earthquake Damage Prediction Based on Damage Indices for RC Structures

Seismic damage indices of structure are widely used to quantificationally analyze structural damage levels under earthquake action. In this paper, a five-storey building model and a seventeen-storey building model are established. According to seven typical indices and different earthquake-inputs, a structural damage prediction is performed, with the results showing serious uncertainty of structural damage prediction due to different indices. Understanding of this phenomenon aids the comprehension and application of the results of earthquake damage prediction.

Analysis of Some Building Damage Phenomena in the Wenchuan Earthquake

The MS8.0 Wenchuan earthquake caused a great deal of damage and collapse to engineering structures. Survey of disaster and engineering damage was made in detail by the authors and other researchers in the extreme earthquake disaster area. The paper makes an overview of the earthquake disaster status and damage phenomena which include brick-concrete buildings, frame structures, brick-wood structures, and timber frame residential buildings. Furthermore, the causes of the disaster and building damage phenomena are briefly discussed. In addition, some typical damage phenomena are specialized. According to the phenomena mentioned above, some feasible seismic measures are suggested for the development of buildings in future.

The Advances and Prospects of Research on Earthquake Engineering at IEM

This paper describes briefly the recent advances and achievements of the research projects conducted by the Institute of Engineering Mechanics (IEM) in the period of the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1995～2000) with the support of the China Seismological Bureau (CSB). These projects are related with key problems in the field of earthquake engineering. They are: development of the methods for determining earthquake resistant design load level, study on mechanisms of earthquake damage to buildings; development of new technology of base isolation, and study on earthquake damage prediction and seismic loss assessment methods. Through these studies, quite a number of problems have been solved and some of them have been applied in earthquake engineering design and practice.

Historical Earthquakes in the Yellow Sea and Its Adjacent Area

As a result of sorting out, estimating and cataloging of historical earthquakes, from the year of 2 A.D. to Aug., 1949, we found that there were 2187 earthquakes with M≥3.0 in the area of the Yellow Sea and its adjacent area. Among the earthquakes, the number of earthquakes with M≥5.0 is 209, and at least 43 of the earthquakes caused serious losses, 20 of the earthquakes caused human causalities. It is demonstrated that there were 3 areas of historical earthquake concentration and the earthquake activity was higher in the 16th century and the first half if the 20th century.