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An earthquake safety revolution is spreading along the streets and back alleys of Los Angeles, as steel frames and strong walls appear inside the first-story parking garages of thousands of apartment buildings.
The construction is designed to fix one of the most dangerous earthquake risks: Wood apartment buildings collapsing because the skinny poles propping up parking at the ground level are not strong enough to withstand the shaking.
— The Los Angeles Times
A building permit analysis conducted by The Los Angeles Times has found that over 27% of Los Angeles’s 11,400 "soft story" wood-frame apartments have been retrofitted since 2015 when the city passed an aggressive seismic upgrading ordinance. "Soft story" buildings are built with an... View full entry
On Thursday, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services will unveil an app created by UC Berkeley that will give all Californians who download it on iOS and Android phones the chance to get earthquake early warnings from any corner of the state.
Authorities will also begin issuing quake early warnings through the Wireless Emergency Alerts system, offering text message alerts even for people who have not downloaded the app.
— The Los Angeles Times
The new warning system will alert Californians who have the app when an earthquake registering at level 3 on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale strikes nearby. The state will send out text message alerts over its Wireless Emergency Alerts system to anyone within range of a level... View full entry
Although no campus buildings were deemed to be in the worst category, “dangerous,” six at UC Berkeley and three at UCLA were found to have a “severe” risk to life. The remaining 62 at UC Berkeley and 15 at UCLA were said to have a “serious” risk to life, according to the first reports released this week in response to a UC Board of Regents 2017 directive calling on every campus to undertake a seismic risk assessment. — The Los Angeles Times
The list includes some of both campus's most historic and important buildings, including Berkeley's architecture building, Wurster Hall, and UCLA's Powell Library. A potential 2020 ballot measure and a recently-proposed California State Senate bill could provide funding to make necessary retrofits. View full entry
Japan, through both government mandates and its engineering culture, builds stronger structures capable of withstanding earthquakes and being used immediately afterward. The United States sets a minimum and less protective standard with the understanding that many buildings will be badly damaged.
The two approaches reflect different attitudes toward risk, the role of government and collective social responsibility.
— The New York Times
The NYT takes a look at the drastically differing approaches (and ideologies behind them) towards earthquake safety in Japan compared with the United States and asks experts what would be at stake in the greater, urban picture in the anticipated event of a very big earthquake. "The debate over... View full entry
With earthquakes in the news following a pair of recent tremors in California, it’s important to remember that seismic design is an integral and increasingly complex aspect of building design architects work hard to address. An ever-improving standard, seismic codes not only save lives, but also... View full entry
After a series of earthquakes left New Zealand's second largest city badly damaged, a new city has begun to gradually emerge. The city of Christchurch, NZ has spent the following years working on a major rebuilding phase, that includes the recently opened $92 million central library designed by... View full entry
Building codes and standards in many countries require engineers to consider the effects of soil liquefaction in the design of new buildings and infrastructure such as bridges, embankment dams and retaining structures — The Guardian
After the devastating earthquake that hit Indonesia, scientists are relating building collapses to soil liquefaction. When overly saturated soil is heavily loosened by intense seismic activity, particles in the soil lose its bond and contact with each other. Thus resulting in its loss of stiffness... View full entry
Several factors play into the lax code enforcements issue. Mexico City is going through a construction boom, and some local officials have been hesitant to put the brakes on such a profitable sector. Corruption is rampant [...] “There is a whole system that’s been designed to benefit everyone involved: public officials, DROs, developers,” said Gómez Durán. “They all protect each other. The citizens are left unprotected.” — CityLab
One year after Mexico City's devastating 7.1-magnitude earthquake, this piece by Martha Pskowski explores how, over the last three decades, the city's engineers, politicians, and builders have repeatedly failed to regulate stricter building codes — which often has deadly consequences. View full entry
San Francisco lives with the certainty that the Big One will come. But the city is also putting up taller and taller buildings clustered closer and closer together because of the state’s severe housing shortage. Now those competing pressures have prompted an anxious rethinking of building regulations. Experts are sending this message: The building code does not protect cities from earthquakes nearly as much as you might think. — New York Times
Taking a hard look at San Francisco's building codes, this NY Times piece goes in depth on what it means for city high rises if the next big earthquake hit. From the 1906 earthquake and fire to current seismic safety, concerns revolve around the number of skyscrapers built on liquefaction zones... View full entry
Yesterday, a magnitude 6.4 quake struck the Taiwanese city of a Hualien, Taiwan. So far, in its wake, the damage has left seven dead and injured 262 others; sixty-three people still remain unaccounted for. according to CNN. Since, emergency workers have been working diligently to rescue those who... View full entry
Los Angeles city officials and property owners are making progress on retrofitting the types of apartment buildings that proved especially vulnerable in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. [...]
As of this month, retrofits on 608 “soft-story” buildings are complete and another almost 4,000 retrofits are in progress, according to the mayor’s office. More than 13,000 of an estimated 13,500 soft-story buildings have been issued orders to comply, the first step on the road to retrofitting.
— Curbed LA
Commemorating the 24-year anniversary of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake which devastated the greater Los Angeles area on January 17, Curbed LA reports about the status of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti's effort to retrofit all of the city's 13,500 "soft-story" buildings — like the ubiquitous, and... View full entry
After the Sylmar quake, officials quickly updated building requirements to add more steel reinforcement to new concrete buildings. But there was no systematic effort by many governments around the world to address the defect in existing concrete buildings. — Los Angeles Times
California has numerous concrete buildings at risk of collapsing during a serious earthquake. The city of Los Angeles estimates having over 1500 buildings at risk. Structural engineers recommend accelerating the deadline for retrofit requirement. View full entry
Yesterday, Mexico City was struck by a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake. As of today, over 200 people have been reported dead as rescuers continue their efforts to recover those still trapped in the rubble. Dozens of buildings in and around the city were reduced to rubble and many more, severely... View full entry
The historic Japanese city of Kumamoto, famous for its picturesque 15th century castle, experienced a damaging earthquake in 2016, leading to the demolition of several of its historic buildings. The World Monument Fund has pledged to help restore the remaining older buildings (although it should... View full entry
Towns and villages in central Italy have been hit by an earthquake for the fourth time in three months.
The 6.6-magnitude quake - Italy's strongest in decades - struck close to the region where nearly 300 people were killed by a quake in August.
This time no-one appears to have died, but about 20 people were injured.
The medieval basilica of St Benedict in Norcia, the town closest to the epicentre, was among buildings destroyed.
— BBC
The earthquake is the most recent in a series that has rocked the region for several months. Last August, an earthquake in Amatrice killed about 300 people and, in 2009, an earthquake destroyed most of the town of L'Aquila. Related:How Architects Can Help Nepal (And Learn From Past Disastrous... View full entry
