EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT STRUCTURES- SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS

EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT STRUCTURES- SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS

ABSTRACT

     It is said, “Earthquakes don’t kill people, but buildings kill people”. By taking care to make the construction earthquake proof, we cannot only avoid economic loss but also loss of precious lives. In this century, major earthquakes in the India have damaged or destroyed numerous buildings, bridges, and other structures. By monitoring how structures respond to earthquakes and applying the knowledge gained, scientists and engineers are improving the ability of structures to survive major earthquakes. Many lives and millions of rupees have already been saved by this ongoing research. Designing and building large structures is always a challenge, and that challenge is compounded when they are built in earthquake-prone. As earth scientists learn more about ground motion during earthquakes and structural engineers use this information to design stronger buildings, to design structures that can withstand earthquakes, engineers must understand the stresses caused by shaking. To this end, scientists and engineers place instruments in structures and nearby on the ground to measure how the structures respond during an earthquake to the motion of the ground beneath. Every time a strong earthquake occurs, the new information gathered enables engineers to refine and improve structural designs and building codes. Such loss of life and property can be reduced. Building codes provide the first line of defense against future earthquake damage and help to ensure public safety. Records of building response to earthquakes, especially those from structures that failed or were damaged, have led to many revisions and improvements in building codes. Earthquakes are low probability but high-risk events. So buildings have to be designed and built anticipating, the force it has to withstand on the event of an earthquake. Awareness against earthquake is the need of the hour. We are the engineers to be blamed for such hazards, which could be minimized by following some of the simple safeguards. The government should provide the general awareness to the public so that current and future generation can make use of it.