Seismic Risk Management of an International Portfolio of Buildings

Abstract eng:
The British Council operates in 110 countries worldwide and needs to manage the earthquake risk in the buildings it works in. Accordingly, it commissioned a desk study intended to create a shortlist of buildings that required detailed on-site seismic inspections. 85 buildings in 60 countries were chosen for the desk study, in areas where the seismic hazard exceeded a rock PGA of 10%g for a 475 year return period. Information on the structure of the buildings was obtained by means of a specially prepared questionnaire, designed to be completed by the (non-specialist) local managers of the buildings. The seismic hazard at the sites was reevaluated, based on a variety of readily available sources, to account for local soil and seismological influences on ground motions, and a 475 year return period intensity value was calculated at the site of each building. The structural and intensity data were then used to evaluate the risk of collapse and risk of death, based on databases of building damage and human casualties in earthquakes prepared by CAR Ltd. For buildings where these risks exceeded defined thresholds, an on-site assessment by a suitably qualified seismic engineer was recommended. The study enabled British Council to understand better the risk that earthquakes posed to staff and other users of its buildings, and to compare it to other risks such as fire. It also proved to be a cost effective way of identifying potentially high seismic risk buildings which needed an on-site inspection to determine possible seismic retrofitting measures.

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