Damage to houses and structures after earthquake - earthquake
Throughout history, natural disasters and catastrophes marked by seismology with earthquakes that have almost unchecked the Richter scale, have caused thousands of people to lose their homes and homes without accounting for human losses, unfortunately.
From an architectural perspective, being able to understand how to assess, detect and report damage to houses, homes or structures in the event of an earthquake It is a matter of necessity and obligation for everyone involved in the world of architecture or engineering in such delicate moments.
In this article we are going to try to explain it from a technical perspective what steps should we take to prevent and assess post-earthquake damage to buildings or homes.
To do this, we will provide different guides and information documents as well as useful and practical templates that will help us detect both cracks, more important conditions or even the collapse of the building, from a previous perspective, to a more exhaustive long-term analysis.
How to assess the severity of an earthquake
If we do not know roughly the magnitude of an earthquake it is difficult to be able to assess your subsequent damages consistently. Two different concepts come in here; the measure of the energy released, and secondly, the effects that it produces in a certain area.
To better understand the severity of earthquakes in the following scheme we will see; magnitude and intensity.
As we see in the diagram, now it is time to read how the earthquake intensity affects according to its severity:
1.- Richter magnitude scale
The magnitude of an earthquake or earthquake is measured in a magnitude, although there are different scales of seismological magnitude, normally it is always spoken of the Richter scale, which is calculated from the record in seismic waves by means of devices called seismograms.
The degrees and effects of that released energy can be seen on the following scale of local magnitude or Richter scale in earthquakes:
2.- Earthquake intensity scale
This scale, assesses the effects and intensity caused by an earthquake on buildings or objects and people. It is a scale - parallel to the Richter - that defines more specifically the extent and severity of the damage. (Although it is a European scale - Information in MS-98, it identifies very well the relationship between Degree Earthquake, People or Objects and Construction Systems)
Now we know how strong an earthquake can be and what is its relationship with reference to people or objects. But… How do we evaluate the intensity of an earthquake versus construction?
Well, for that we have the following scheme (It is related to the previous table - EMS-98 earthquake scale). The vulnerability class We can see them from QUI, but the «A» is the least severe and it would begin with the previous table with the chapter «V. Strong".
We once again recall that these last two schemes refer to a European scale, but we have added them for their consistency in the valuation, understanding that it is possible that there are other valuation systems and more from the countries of South America.
How an earthquake affects a building
Although the question may seem simple, in reality we could spend hours and hours identifying the most important technical aspects of how an earthquake affects the structure of a building or to a house.
So to be consistent, we are going to add different visual schemes to understand the most relevant aspects:
How can we check the effect of an earthquake on buildings produces lateral movements on them, being that it is not prepared to assimilate them. The earthquake resistant buildings, seeks a balance between resistance and the ability to deform without breaking, this aspect is called ductility.
An example of earthquake damage applied to a new construction building in its structure would be:
The earthquake resistance in buildings It contemplates a seismic regulation that will oblige construction companies to erect buildings with maximum safety coefficients. An example of how earthquake resistant buildings are constructed would:
It must be taken into account that technological advances bring new construction systems that improve the anti-earthquake capabilities of buildings, both in new materials, new forms of structures or construction, and the famous anti-seismic foundations.
But, yes we already have a building built … How can we improve the resistance of an existing building to an earthquake?. An adequate rehabilitation could be simplified in the following scheme:
How to assess damage to houses and structures after an earthquake with the naked eye
Determine a security protocol for buildings and houses after aseism It has to be a priority, so we must understand some follow-up guidelines. The review of the state of the home, the place of work or a building must be immediate to be able to identify the different appropriate signals.
From a general perspective, we can identify and how to know if your house is damaged by the earthquake step by step with the following scheme:
The above infographic tells from a generalized aspect, but what really interests us is a technical evaluation of the state of the home or building in the event of an earthquake.
We remember a curious article on ingenious design of how a flowerpot can save your life.
How to check building damage after an earthquake technically
Keep in mind that after an earthquake preliminary assessments are important and necessary both to prevent possible collapses of buildings, threats and risks, such as accidents, and of course, people can access their homes or not, with complete peace of mind. So we will have:
- A quick postism inspection and assessment of existing buildings.
- A longer and more detailed postism inspection and evaluation.
Obviously in both cases it is the technicians (architects, technical architects, engineers … ect) who must determine the correct verdict. In order to consistently practice the two previous cases from a technical and reliable perspective, we have looked for two documents that reflect very well the steps we must follow.
Eye! They are documents that we can use as a basis and that in no case will they replace the appropriate regulations of each country, but as a guide they seem to us to be of great relevance… Let's start!
1.- Rapid evaluation of postsism in buildings
This quick guide is intended to be a procedure characterized by its simplicity and agility while still complying with the demands and specifications established by an administration in the event of an earthquake.
The objective is to generate a report that reflects the extent and assessment of damage sustained in an earthquake from a technical point of view, its relationship with that emergency situation, the social or family situation, and facilitate the tasks of managing aid before administration derived from an emergency situation.
The file that we can see from QUI is based on:
- Identification data (inspector data, building identification, effect on building occupants … etc)
- Damage to structural elements (Element, symptom, probable cause and qualification)
- A section on the classification of injuries.
- Damage to non-structural elements (Element, symptom, probable cause and qualification)
We recall that we have three technical articles that we can expand information on the constructive characteristics of buildings and materials:
- Rehabilitation of roofs and roofs in houses
- Types of insulating materials for rehabilitation
- Techniques and examples of types of buildings in construction
2.- Detailed postism evaluation in buildings
The evaluation and earthquake building damage inspection you undoubtedly need a more detailed report. This will be the objective of the document that we are going to present, where the location of possible injuries to structural or non-structural elements, apart from being more exhaustive, we will have recommendations on the subsequent actions that should be practiced as well as possible ways of helping .
It is a document for the scope of application of all buildings used for housing (Residential), commercial premises, garages or possible storage rooms that have suffered damage as a result of an earthquake.
For the access of this template on structure evaluation and start to get a perspective on it building collapse due to earthquake, we will have to go back to the IVE (Valencian Institute of Valencian Building) from this Document.
This document is free if we want it in digital format (On paper it is paying), so we will have to mark «Document viewer», and then «add to cart». Review all the data that the user indicates, and we can download the report for zero euros.
We will download a compressed file, where when we open it we can see:
Although at the beginning he talks about Spain and its seismological situation. You can see that it is adaptable to any area. Later on there are different explanations and tips, and finally the files to fill in and an example of a resolved file:
Documents of interest and information guides before earthquakes
To expand the information we have wanted to provide a series of PDF documents that, due to their quality, we believe are of interest:
- Earthquake damage prevention guide in schools… See from QUI (One of the best documents we have found with very useful information)
- Cadastre Manual, recognition of buildings in the event of earthquakes… See from QUI
- Practical guide for seismic evaluation and rehabilitation of structures… See from QUI
- Emergency measures for monuments, churches and historic buildings in the event of earthquakes. View from QUI
- Protocol in case of earthquake; What to do during the earthquake, after and structural evaluation of houses… See from QUI
- Assessment guide in emergency situation of damage due to earthquake in buildings … See from QUI
How to check earthquakes in real time
There are different platforms that record the seismic movements in real time around the world so that we can consult.
To consult the earthquakes in real time in SpainWhether it is from today, yesterday or those of a long time ago, we have the National Geographic Institute where from the following link we can make a query on the map.
To consult the earthquakes in the world in real time, one of the most recognized portals that monitor seismic movements It is the IRIS that we can consult from HERE. (At the top of the portal there are two maps that you can click and search on geographic pama)
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