Advances in Earthquake Engineering for Urban Risk Reduction

Advances in Earthquake Engineering for Urban Risk Reduction
Author: S. Tanvir Wasti
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 563
Release: 2006-06-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402045719

Earthquakes affecting urban areas can lead to catastrophic situations and hazard mitigation requires preparatory measures at all levels. Structural assessment is the diagnosis of the seismic health of buildings. Assessment is the prelude to decisions about rehabilitation or even demolition. The scale of the problem in dense urban settings brings about a need for macro seismic appraisal procedures because large numbers of existing buildings do not conform to the increased requirements of new earthquake codes and specifications or have other deficiencies. It is the vulnerable buildings - liable to cause damage and loss of life - that need immediate attention and urgent appraisal in order to decide if structural rehabilitation and upgrading are feasible. Current economic, efficient and occupant-friendly rehabilitation techniques vary widely and include the application either of precast concrete panels or layers, strips and patches of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) in strategic locations. The papers in this book, many by renowned authorities in earthquake engineering, chart new and vital directions of research and application in the assessment and rehabilitation of buildings in seismic regions. While several papers discuss the probabilistic prediction and quantification of structural damage, others present approaches related with the in-situ and occupant friendly upgrading of buildings and propose both economical and practical techniques to address the problem.

National Earthquake Resilience

National Earthquake Resilience
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2011-09-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309186773

The United States will certainly be subject to damaging earthquakes in the future. Some of these earthquakes will occur in highly populated and vulnerable areas. Coping with moderate earthquakes is not a reliable indicator of preparedness for a major earthquake in a populated area. The recent, disastrous, magnitude-9 earthquake that struck northern Japan demonstrates the threat that earthquakes pose. Moreover, the cascading nature of impacts-the earthquake causing a tsunami, cutting electrical power supplies, and stopping the pumps needed to cool nuclear reactors-demonstrates the potential complexity of an earthquake disaster. Such compound disasters can strike any earthquake-prone populated area. National Earthquake Resilience presents a roadmap for increasing our national resilience to earthquakes. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is the multi-agency program mandated by Congress to undertake activities to reduce the effects of future earthquakes in the United States. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-the lead NEHRP agency-commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) to develop a roadmap for earthquake hazard and risk reduction in the United States that would be based on the goals and objectives for achieving national earthquake resilience described in the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan. National Earthquake Resilience does this by assessing the activities and costs that would be required for the nation to achieve earthquake resilience in 20 years. National Earthquake Resilience interprets resilience broadly to incorporate engineering/science (physical), social/economic (behavioral), and institutional (governing) dimensions. Resilience encompasses both pre-disaster preparedness activities and post-disaster response. In combination, these will enhance the robustness of communities in all earthquake-vulnerable regions of our nation so that they can function adequately following damaging earthquakes. While National Earthquake Resilience is written primarily for the NEHRP, it also speaks to a broader audience of policy makers, earth scientists, and emergency managers.

Extreme Natural Hazards, Disaster Risks and Societal Implications

Extreme Natural Hazards, Disaster Risks and Societal Implications
Author: Alik Ismail-Zadeh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2014-04-17
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1107033861

A unique interdisciplinary approach to disaster risk research, including global hazards and case-studies, for researchers, graduate students and professionals.

Improved Seismic Monitoring - Improved Decision-Making

Improved Seismic Monitoring - Improved Decision-Making
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2006-01-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309165032

Improved Seismic Monitoringâ€"Improved Decision-Making, describes and assesses the varied economic benefits potentially derived from modernizing and expanding seismic monitoring activities in the United States. These benefits include more effective loss avoidance regulations and strategies, improved understanding of earthquake processes, better engineering design, more effective hazard mitigation strategies, and improved emergency response and recovery. The economic principles that must be applied to determine potential benefits are reviewed and the report concludes that although there is insufficient information available at present to fully quantify all the potential benefits, the annual dollar costs for improved seismic monitoring are in the tens of millions and the potential annual dollar benefits are in the hundreds of millions.

Preventing Earthquake Disasters: The Grand Challenge in Earthquake Engineering

Preventing Earthquake Disasters: The Grand Challenge in Earthquake Engineering
Author: National Research Council (U.S.). Committee to Develop a Long-Term Research Agenda for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES)
Publisher: National Academy Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2003-11-21
Genre: Nature
ISBN:

The Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), is scheduled to become operational in 2004. These network sites will perform a range of experiments to test and validate complex computer models being developed to simulate the behavior of structures subjected to earthquakes. To assist in this effort, the NSF requested the National Research Council(NRC) to frame the major questions to be addressed by and to develop a long-term research agenda for NEES. Preventing Earthquake Disasters presents an overview of the grand challenge including six critical research problems making up that challenge. The report also provides an assessment of earthquake engineering research issues and the role of information technology in that research effort, and a research plan for NEES.

Urban Disasters and Resilience in Asia

Urban Disasters and Resilience in Asia
Author: Rajib Shaw
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2016-01-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128023775

Urban Disasters and Resilience in Asia presents the latest information on the intensity and frequency of disasters. Specifically, the fact that, in urban areas, more than 50% of the world's population is living on just 2% of the land surface, with most of these cities located in Asia and developing countries that have high vulnerability and intensification. The book offers an in-depth and multidisciplinary approach to reducing the impact of disasters by examining specific evidence from events in these areas that can be used to develop best practices and increase urban resilience worldwide. As urban resilience is largely a function of resilient and resourceful citizens, building cities which are more resilient internally and externally can lead to more productive economic returns. In an era of rapid urbanization and increasing disaster risks and vulnerabilities in Asian cities, Urban Disasters and Resilience in Asia is an invaluable tool for policy makers, researchers, and practitioners working in both public and private sectors. - Explores a broad range of aspects of disaster and urban resiliency, including environmental, economic, architectural, and engineering factors - Bridges the gap between urban resilience and rural areas and community building - Provides evidence-based data that can lead to improved disaster resiliency in urban Asia - Focuses on Asian cities, some of the most densely populated areas on the planet, where disasters are particularly devastating

Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Behaviour of Steel Structures in Seismic Areas

Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Behaviour of Steel Structures in Seismic Areas
Author: Federico M. Mazzolani
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 1146
Release: 2022-05-07
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3031038118

This volume highlights the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of seismic design and performance of steel structures, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the 10th International Conference on the Behaviour of Steel Structures in Seismic Areas (STESSA), held in Timisoara, Romania, on 25-27 May 2022. It covers a diverse range of topics such as behaviour of structural members and connections, performance of structural systems, mixed and composite structures, energy dissipation systems, self-centring and low-damage systems, assessment and retrofitting, codes and standards, light-gauge systems. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, present a wealth of exciting ideas that will open novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaboration among different specialists.

A Safer Future

A Safer Future
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 85
Release: 1991-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309045460

Initial priorities for U.S. participation in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, declared by the United Nations, are contained in this volume. It focuses on seven issues: hazard and risk assessment; awareness and education; mitigation; preparedness for emergency response; recovery and reconstruction; prediction and warning; learning from disasters; and U.S. participation internationally. The committee presents its philosophy of calls for broad public and private participation to reduce the toll of disasters.