On January 17, 1994, the
Northridge quake struck in California
and caused estimated damage of at
least $30 billion, according to the
Engineering News-Record. What
caused so much damage, and what
kind of building codes are supposed
to ensure structures that can withstand
earthquakes? Is it realistic to
expect a building or a major structure,
such as a highway bridge, to survive
an earthquake? When can we
say that a structure has survived or
failed?
Most of us do not understand the
discussions of earthquake construction
because the engineers talk in
terms of horizontal shear from lateral
loading, or vertical shaking, or shear
damage and flexural damage. What
are they talking about? And more
important, what can they do about
it?
It can