Two recent deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria offer lessons regarding construction practices and codes for California, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
Lax building standards were blamed for much of the devastation, including well over 35,000 dead and countless building collapses. Officials have been investigating construction practices and have arrested some builders, with experts pointing to corruption or incompetence.
The Associated Press reported that even though Turkey has construction codes that meet current earthquake-engineering standards, they are too rarely enforced. Although extensive seismic retrofit work has been either completed, started, or scheduled, many southern California buildings are still considered vulnerable to extensive damage from sizable tremors.
Structures built with non-ductile concrete construction; so-called “soft-story” apartments that have flimsy ground floors typically used as a garage, carport, or for retail space; and unreinforced brick buildings are all at risk. Los Angeles has mandated seismic retrofits on many buildings, but there is much work to do with the deadline to comply for some building types set in the 2040s.
Related Stories
| Oct 25, 2013
California struggles with updated seismic codes
In California, there are still hundreds of concrete buildings that need reinforcement to bring them up to the new seismic code.
| Aug 23, 2013
Simpson Strong-Tie sponsors final phase of cold-formed steel seismic tests
Simpson Strong-Tie donated product and provided technical expertise for the CFS-NEES project, a series of earthquake tests for cold-formed steel-framed buildings. As part of the final phase of a three-year, National Science Foundation-funded research project led by Johns Hopkins University, the purpose of the tests is to better understand the overall system performance of cold-formed steel-framed buildings and to develop performance-based design methodology for seismic resistance.
| Jul 9, 2013
AISC releases Design Guide on Blast Resistant Structures
Design professionals now have a valuable new resource on blast resistant structures with AISC Design Guide No. 26, Design of Blast Resistant Structures.
High-rise Construction | Jul 9, 2013
5 innovations in high-rise building design
KONE's carbon-fiber hoisting technology and the Broad Group's prefab construction process are among the breakthroughs named 2013 Innovation Award winners by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jun 14, 2013
Purdue, industry partners test light steel framing for seismic safety
A partnership of leading earthquake engineering researchers from top U.S. and Canadian universities and design professionals from the steel industry have begun the final phase of a three-year project to increase the seismic safety of buildings that use lightweight cold-formed steel for their primary beams and columns.
| Mar 29, 2013
Top industry professionals to receive awards at NASCC: The Steel Conference
On April 17, Michael F. Engestrom, Dann H. Hall, Michael A. West, Stephen A. Mahin, Wallace W. Sanders, Jr., Mark V. Holland, Steven C. Ball, Rafael Sabelli, Judy Liu and William J. Wright will be recognized by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of the structural steel design and construction industry.
| Mar 4, 2013
Legendary structural engineer Gene Corley passes away at 77
CTLGroup, an expert engineering and materials science firm located in Skokie, Illinois, is saddened by the news that W. Gene Corley, Ph.D., S.E., P.E., Senior Vice President, died on March 1, 2013 after a brief battle with cancer.
| Feb 20, 2013
Group of West Coast civil engineers developing building standards for tsunamis
A group of civil engineers from around the western U.S. is developing additions to the building code to address the threat of a tsunami.
| Jun 1, 2012
New BD+C University Course on Insulated Metal Panels available
By completing this course, you earn 1.0 HSW/SD AIA Learning Units.
