How can good engineering practises help stop the

collapsing of buildings during earthquakes?

Case Study
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Just over a month later on February 27, an even more powerful earthquake with a
magnitude of 8.8 hit Chile near its second largest city, Concepcin. The images of
destruction from both of these disasters have been shocking. Buildings were smashed
like children's toys. Bridges collapsed, and highway overpasses buckled. In Haiti, an
estimated 230,000 to 300,000 people died as a result of the earthquake. In Chile, the
death toll was around 700. In both cases, buildings and infrastructure were damaged
and there was loss of life but why were so many more people killed in the Haitian
quake? How can similar large losses of life be prevented in future earthquakes?
Why did the Earthquake Happen?
Usually Earthquakes are causes by the rocks underground that break along faults. This
release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake.
The Earthquake in Haiti was cause by the fault situated along the boundary Caribbean
plate and the North American plate. These two plates are constantly transforming
towards each other, for about 0.8 inches (20 mm) a year, the Caribbean plate moves
eastward whereas the North American plate moves the opposite direction which is
westwards. This movement caused the energy release and the earthquakes in Haiti.
It is a known fact that the depth of the Earthquake in Haiti was shallow, meaning that
the energy that was released was very close to the surface, which can be another
reason why the Earthquake had a violent shake of the ground.
Earthquake Engineering
There are Earthquake Engineers who are studying the Physics and Geography part of
how earthquakes are made. They have found out that the buildings are not the only
things that kill people during earthquakes but also electric currents that are caused
when the plates are shaking. Earthquakes engineers are still busy investigating ways
of building buildings that will be earthquake friendly considering the Physics and
Geography part of Earthquakes.
There is an old Engineering saying that says that Earthquakes dont kill people;
building do, and as much as the motions of the Earthquakes are frightening, the
building alone cause the loss of life. One of the factors that are crucial when an
Earthquake happens is the type and number of building present near the epicentre.

Only when buildings are built flexible enough to withstand the forces that are
produced by an Earthquake, will it be able to be stable during an Earthquake. Other
than that, the building will collapse in a strong Earthquake and the people who were
inside and around the building will die. Unfortunately this was the case in Haiti, the
building that were around the epicentre of the Earthquake were not strong enough to
withstand an Earthquake.
Understanding this will assist Engineers on how to prevent great loss of life during
Earthquakes, by suggesting the best way to build houses around Earthquake prone
areas. Earthquake engineers investigate the reasons why infrastructure and buildings
fail during earthquakes and then apply their knowledge to planning, designing,
constructing, and managing earthquake-resistant structures and facilities.

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