Performance of Reinforced Adobe Houses in Pisco, Peru Earthquake

Abstract eng:
The Pisco, Peru earthquake of August 15, 2007 (Mw8.0) produced large destruction of adobe constructions in cities and rural towns located in the central coast of Peru. Other buildings of reinforced concrete and masonry were also severely affected or collapsed. However, no damage occurred in five existing adobe houses in the province of Ica that were reinforced in 1998, while neighbor houses without reinforcement, had massive collapses of entire walls and roofs. This successful seismic resistance of reinforced adobe houses was also observed in the June 2001 earthquake (Mw8.4) in southern Peru. The seismic reinforcement used in all the cases described above, consists on strips of wire mesh nailed externally to the adobe walls, in vertical and horizontal directions, simulating columns and beams; these strips are later covered with cement mortar. The dissemination of this reinforcement technique should be done in seismic areas of the world in order to avoid damage to millions of existing adobe houses, protecting the life of people with less economic resources.

• Export as: BibTeX | MARC | MARCXML | DC | EndNote | NLM | RefWorks
• Add to your basket