3000-5000 dead is the estimate right now, and it will surely climb from there. horrifying story. and a cold hand on the shoulder to those of us who live in earthquake zones.
I was hoping there might be some here knowledgeable about Chinese building codes/standards (or lack thereof) and whether they played a role in this death toll. from the number of building collapses being reported it sure sounds like it.
i lived and worked in Chongqing, near where the quake hit. i also designed some buildings in this area.
once i was speaking to a professor who was getting her license. what shocked me was that without a license, you could design a building up to 8 stories tall. Anything above that required a licensed architect. there are building codes published but i only looked at the fire codes and not the earthquake codes (they are published separately).
the bigger problem would be the lack of oversight by the architect. we would design the building and then hand off the design to the construction company who would created the construction documents and complete the building. this is a system easily exploited and compounded by the construction boom which leaves inspectors overworked and easily bribed.
wow that's interesting ther_mos_i_phon. i find that, in the states, letting the contractor have any control over the construction documents or specifications is pretty much a recipe for disaster, much less an 8 storey building.
well, at least six schools, two chemical plants, several factories, untold numbers of private houses, in some places 30-80% of ALL buildings, so I'm guessing there were probably some hospitals that came down too.
thanks for the info, ther_mos_i_phon. it sure seems like a system very vulnerable to abuse.
10,000 dead is the latest tally, and they haven't even managed to get rescue workers into the worst hit areas yet.
i am Chinese, and actually, we have already set up a series of standards upon earthquake, but the level is 7, this earthquake on May 12 is more than 8, then..that's why so many buildings collapes.
moreover, in Sichuan, people build their own house as well, these are the most vulnerable buildings in the earthquake....
now I am heading to USC, i have heard that there will be a severe earthquake in southern california within 30 years.....oh....so horrible to me.............
just a decade ago, the magnitude 6.7 Kobe earthquake happened at the cost of over five thousands lives. japan, being one of the most developed country and certainly experienced of confronting with earthquakes, cannot do much for such a natural disaster.
Szechuan major earthquake yesterday was recorded as magnitude 8 followed by a number of aftershocks up to magnitude 6.
let's pray for the victims and help whatever we can.
Yes and Szechuan (lib.: 4 streams) had been a very important defensive base in the ancient history of china, favored by her intricated and hilly topography. This is also the place where the panda are breeded.
Comparing to Kobe and Tang Shan which are basically plains, this earthquake together with the rains caused numerous of landslide that killed a lot of lives and destroyed all main accesses for rescue teams and machines. There is also a lack of plains for airforce to land in some severe areas.
a video about easliy built earthen homes in China, design by HSIEH, Ying Chun...seems like a relevant solution... the house costs 6000USD and without the need for skilled labor.....reminds me of a Barn Raising..
Earthquake in China
no discussion of this here yet?
3000-5000 dead is the estimate right now, and it will surely climb from there. horrifying story. and a cold hand on the shoulder to those of us who live in earthquake zones.
I was hoping there might be some here knowledgeable about Chinese building codes/standards (or lack thereof) and whether they played a role in this death toll. from the number of building collapses being reported it sure sounds like it.
i lived and worked in Chongqing, near where the quake hit. i also designed some buildings in this area.
once i was speaking to a professor who was getting her license. what shocked me was that without a license, you could design a building up to 8 stories tall. Anything above that required a licensed architect. there are building codes published but i only looked at the fire codes and not the earthquake codes (they are published separately).
the bigger problem would be the lack of oversight by the architect. we would design the building and then hand off the design to the construction company who would created the construction documents and complete the building. this is a system easily exploited and compounded by the construction boom which leaves inspectors overworked and easily bribed.
i'm chinese but i'm much much more concern with the ppl at cambodia rite now...hope china to do something about this.
well perhaps there will be tightening of codes following this disaster...
wow that's interesting ther_mos_i_phon. i find that, in the states, letting the contractor have any control over the construction documents or specifications is pretty much a recipe for disaster, much less an 8 storey building.
On my way home from work today I think I heard something about a hospital collapsing in the region. Did anyone else hear this?
well, at least six schools, two chemical plants, several factories, untold numbers of private houses, in some places 30-80% of ALL buildings, so I'm guessing there were probably some hospitals that came down too.
thanks for the info, ther_mos_i_phon. it sure seems like a system very vulnerable to abuse.
10,000 dead is the latest tally, and they haven't even managed to get rescue workers into the worst hit areas yet.
Yeah, I just learned all about designing for seismic loads in my structures class. Don't they bother with that over in China?
i am Chinese, and actually, we have already set up a series of standards upon earthquake, but the level is 7, this earthquake on May 12 is more than 8, then..that's why so many buildings collapes.
moreover, in Sichuan, people build their own house as well, these are the most vulnerable buildings in the earthquake....
now I am heading to USC, i have heard that there will be a severe earthquake in southern california within 30 years.....oh....so horrible to me.............
just a decade ago, the magnitude 6.7 Kobe earthquake happened at the cost of over five thousands lives. japan, being one of the most developed country and certainly experienced of confronting with earthquakes, cannot do much for such a natural disaster.
Szechuan major earthquake yesterday was recorded as magnitude 8 followed by a number of aftershocks up to magnitude 6.
let's pray for the victims and help whatever we can.
The hypocenter of the quake was shallow, too. It seems that shallow earthquakes do the most damage.
Yes and Szechuan (lib.: 4 streams) had been a very important defensive base in the ancient history of china, favored by her intricated and hilly topography. This is also the place where the panda are breeded.
Comparing to Kobe and Tang Shan which are basically plains, this earthquake together with the rains caused numerous of landslide that killed a lot of lives and destroyed all main accesses for rescue teams and machines. There is also a lack of plains for airforce to land in some severe areas.
Ways of donation:
Red Cross Hong Kong (recommended). http://www.redcross.org.hk/home.cfm?langId=1&Ver=G
Red Cross UK: http://www.redcross.org.uk/news.asp?id=81083
Red Cross China: www.redcross.org.cn
Chinese Embassy in London: http://uk.china-embassy.org/eng/sghd/t434204.htm
a video about easliy built earthen homes in China, design by HSIEH, Ying Chun...seems like a relevant solution... the house costs 6000USD and without the need for skilled labor.....reminds me of a Barn Raising..
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=architect&hl=en&sitesearch=
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