the Haiti earthquake (which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale) was 500 times less powerful than the one last Saturday but over 250,000 people were killed. Based on magnitude alone, the death toll from Chile should be much higher and the devastation much more complete – but that’s not the case. Chile can thank foresight and smart planning for that, and its situation is a testament to what a huge life-or-death difference smart building codes and well designed architecture can make.There are many more factors to consider in pointing out the differences between these two natural disasters - the Chilean earthquake was larger, but deeper and further offshore, but the tsunami it created also did massive damage - but I think its still interesting to point out what a difference good design can make.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Building Codes and Chile's Earthquake
As a follow-up to my post following the Haiti earthquake - Did Architects Fail Haiti? - I wanted to share this thoughtful article from Inhabitat - How Good Design and Building Codes Saved Lives During Chile’s Earthquake.
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Here's part of an article I heard on NPR the other day. They had mentioned that some very old buildings withstood the quake with little damage, while some newer construction did not fare as well.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
http://www.fastcompany.com/1567484/lessons-from-chile-better-building-codes-work-so-why-dont-we-have-them