The Impact of Earthquake Aftershocks on Building Design & Safety

Dr. N. Subramanian, an award-winning author and consultant, Maryland, USA discusses the probability of aftershocks in the seismic design of structures, shares some observations on occurrences of aftershocks after major earthquakes, and gives some suggestions on ensuring safety of buildings.

Building in Dogukent, Kahramanmars which survived the first event but collapsed in the second earthquake (collapsed building in foreground of photo). (Ref.7)

Observations from past earthquakes have demon- strated that buildings in high seismic regions will experience several aftershocks following the main-earthquake, and these aftershocks could significantly increase the damage level. Since aftershocks have the potential to increase the vulnerability of already damaged buildings during the main earthquake, it is crucial to consider aftershock effects in the structural design process. These aftershocks, which at times may even be equal in magnitude like the main earthquake, have the potential to cause severe damage to buildings and threaten life and safety, even when only minor damage is caused by the main earthquake.

🔒 This article is for subscribers only. Log in to read.

Subscribe for a Month @ ₹200/- Subscribe for a Year @ ₹1000/-