LESSONS FROM PAST NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES PART VIII Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

PAST NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES SPITAK, ARMENIA DECEMBER 7, 1988

EARTHQAKES ARE DYNAMIC LABORATORIES FOR LEARNING AND CATALYSTS FOR BUILDING CAPACITY FOR DISASTER-INTELLIGENT & DISASTER-RESILIENT COMMUNITES

OCCURRENCE

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE SPITAK EARTHQUAKE  M6.8  11:41 AM LOCAL TIME  “BLIND” THRUST FAULT  INTENSITY X (MSK SCALE)  M6.8  11:41 AM LOCAL TIME  “BLIND” THRUST FAULT  INTENSITY X (MSK SCALE)  SPITAK WAS IN THE “BULLS” EYE”  APT. BLDGS., HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS COLLAPSED  INT’L SEARCH AND RESCUE OF TRAPPED VICTIMS  SPITAK WAS IN THE “BULLS” EYE”  APT. BLDGS., HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS COLLAPSED  INT’L SEARCH AND RESCUE OF TRAPPED VICTIMS

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: COMPLEX TECTONICS SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: COMPLEX TECTONICS

ARMENIA: LOCATED IN THE LESSER CAUCASUS MTNS

THE CAUSATIVE BLIND THRUST FAULT (USSR ACAD. OF SCI.)

INADEQUATE RESISTANCE TO HORIZONTAL GROUND SHAKING EARTHQUAKES SOIL AMPLIFICATION PERMANENT DISPLACEMENT (SURFACE FAULTING & GROUND FAILURE) IRREGULARITIES IN ELEVATION AND PLAN FIRE FOLLOWING RUPTURE OF UTILITIES LACK OF DETAILING AND CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS INATTENTION TO NON- STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS CAUSES OF DAMAGE “DISASTER LABORATORIES”

IMPACTS BUILDINGS

LESSONS LEARNED FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE  ALL NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES  PREPAREDNESS PLANNING FOR THE INEVITABLE GROUND SHAKING IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.

LESSONS LEARNED FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE  ALL NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES  PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS AND INFRASTRUCTURE IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE SPITAK EARTHQUAKE  SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS PERFORMED POORLY  LOSS OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS  MEDICAL SERVICES WERE UN- AVAILABLE IN THE HOUR OF GREATEST NEED.  LOSS OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS  MEDICAL SERVICES WERE UN- AVAILABLE IN THE HOUR OF GREATEST NEED.

COLLAPSED SCHOOL: A PROTECTION NIGHTMARE  ALL OF THE CHILDREN WERE KILLED WHEN SOME SCHOOLS COLLAPSED ---  JUST MINUTES BEFORE THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED AND OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL ON THE WAY HOME FOR LUNCH.

THE VULNERABILITIES OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS, SCHOOLS, AND HOSPITALS CONSTRUCTED DURING THE END OF THE BRESHNIV ERA WERE EXPOSED BY THE STRONG GROUND SHAKING OF THE M6.8 EARTHQUAKE THE VULNERABILITIES OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS, SCHOOLS, AND HOSPITALS CONSTRUCTED DURING THE END OF THE BRESHNIV ERA WERE EXPOSED BY THE STRONG GROUND SHAKING OF THE M6.8 EARTHQUAKE

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: UN- REINFORCED MASONRY SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: UN- REINFORCED MASONRY

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: UN- REINFORCED MASONRY

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: CONCRETE FRAME BUILDINGS SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: CONCRETE FRAME BUILDINGS

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: NEW BUILDINGS PERFORMED POORLY SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: NEW BUILDINGS PERFORMED POORLY

UN-ANCHORED FLOOR PLANKS CAUSED COLLAPSES UN-ANCHORED FLOOR PLANKS CAUSED COLLAPSES UN-ANCHORED FLOOR PLANKS CAUSED COLLAPSES

One hundred and thirty-two nine-story precast-concrete- frame buildings collapsed or were heavily damaged in Leninakan.

LENINAKAN: SOIL AMPLIFICATION EXACERBATED DAMAGE POTENTIAL LENINAKAN: SOIL AMPLIFICATION EXACERBATED DAMAGE POTENTIAL

LENINAKAN DAMAGE  Leninakan's location along the eastern banks of the Akhurian River also contributed significantly to the damage, because most buildings in the area were built on shallow foundations sited on thick sections of clay, sand, soil, and tuffs which amplified the ground motion and increased the duration of shaking.

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: CULTURAL HERITAGE DESTROYED SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: CULTURAL HERITAGE DESTROYED

LESSONS LEARNED FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE  ALL NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES  PREPAREDNESS PLANNING FOR THE INEVITABLE GROUND FAILURE IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.

LANDSLIDES  Hundreds to thousands of landslides were triggered west of Alivar by the earthquake, but their impacts were minor.

LESSONS LEARNED FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE  ALL NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES  CAPACITY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE SPITAK EARTHQUAKE  PRESIDENT GORBACHAV WAS THE GUEST OF PRESIDENT REAGAN AND PRESIDENT-ELECT BUSH IN NEW YORK AT TIME OF QUAKE  SOME 70 COUNTRIES SENT PEOPLE AND SUPPLIES  USA SENT MEDICAL AND TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS IMMEDIATELY  SOME 70 COUNTRIES SENT PEOPLE AND SUPPLIES  USA SENT MEDICAL AND TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS IMMEDIATELY

A HISTORICAL NOTE OF INTEREST Russian military planes landed at USA’s Andrew’s Air Force base to collect the U.S. teams for urgent travel to Armenia

DEBRIS AND TRAFFIC HINDERED EM RESPONSE

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: SEARCH AND RESCUE SPITAK EARTHQUAKE: SEARCH AND RESCUE

LESSONS LEARNED FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE  ALL NOTABLE EARTHQUAKES  CAPACITY FOR RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.

SPITAK EARTHQUAKE SPITAK EARTHQUAKE  PRESIDENT REAGAN AND PRESIDENT-ELECT BUSH PROMISED PRESIDENT GORBACHAV IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE  USA AND 70 COUNTRIES SENT PEOPLE AND SUPPLIES  UNESCO HELPED PLAN RECOVERY  RECONSTRUCTION COSTS OF ABOUT $16 BILLION  USA AND 70 COUNTRIES SENT PEOPLE AND SUPPLIES  UNESCO HELPED PLAN RECOVERY  RECONSTRUCTION COSTS OF ABOUT $16 BILLION

 At least 25,000 dead; several thousand injured.  More than 21,000 residences were destroyed and 700,000 people in northern Armenia were affected by this event.

IMPACTS: SPITAK EARTHQUAKE IMPACTS: SPITAK EARTHQUAKE  NEW CONCRETE FRAME BUILDINGS PERFORMED POORLY  SCHOOLS PERFORMED POORLY  NEW CONCRETE FRAME BUILDINGS PERFORMED POORLY  SCHOOLS PERFORMED POORLY  AT LEAST 25,000 KILLED  IF THE QUAKE HAD OCCURRED 5 MINUTES LATER, CHILDREN WOULD HAVE BEEN OUTSIDE THE COLLAPSED SCHOOLS  AT LEAST 25,000 KILLED  IF THE QUAKE HAD OCCURRED 5 MINUTES LATER, CHILDREN WOULD HAVE BEEN OUTSIDE THE COLLAPSED SCHOOLS

WHAT HAS HAPPENED WHAT HAS HAPPENED  “BLIND THRUST FAULT ZONES” TO BE AVOIDED  SEISMIC DESIGN PROVISIONS WERE UPGRADED  THE “NEW” SPITAK IS A 4-STORY CITY WITH MORE ATTENTION TO DESIGN DETAIL  “BLIND THRUST FAULT ZONES” TO BE AVOIDED  SEISMIC DESIGN PROVISIONS WERE UPGRADED  THE “NEW” SPITAK IS A 4-STORY CITY WITH MORE ATTENTION TO DESIGN DETAIL  EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING EMERGED AS A HIGH PRIORITY  THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA WAS ESTABLISNED TO BUILD TECHNICAL CAPACITY FOR THE FUTURE  EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING EMERGED AS A HIGH PRIORITY  THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA WAS ESTABLISNED TO BUILD TECHNICAL CAPACITY FOR THE FUTURE