How to know if your building is quake resistant

May 03, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:38 am IST

IIIT-Hyderabad has developed graphs on damage assessment of buildings in cities prone to earthquakes. This is essentially a pre-earthquake exercise. This study will indicate the type of damage a building will have when subjected to a particular level of shaking, which depends on the magnitude of an earthquake. The information on level of shaking comes from seismological inputs from the area.

Experts prepare graphs based on certain criteria after inspecting the building. In the first phase, a visual survey of the structure is taken up by engineers.

PGA studies

They also consider Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) studies of that particular area where the building is located. PGA is nothing but trying to analyse how hard (the intensity) the ground or earth will shake in a given geographic area.

Graphs prepared by the experts will provide a qualitative estimate of the damage of a building in the event of an earthquake. This analysis will facilitate individual home owners to know the vulnerability and risk status of their building and the government to know the status of built environment in a given region. To reach to IIIT experts, send an email to query@iiit.ac.in or call 6653-1000.

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