Seismic Retrofitting of a Public Building

SEISMIC RETROFITTING OF A PUBLIC BUILDING.pdf

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Earthquakes are one of nature’s greatest hazards to life on this planet. The impact of this phenomenon is sudden with little or no warning to make preparations against damages and collapse of buildings/structures. The hazard to life in case of earthquake is almost entirely associated with man-made structures such as buildings, dams, bridges, etc (Indian Central Public Works Department, 2007).

Prevention of disasters caused by earthquake has become increasingly important in recent years. Disaster prevention includes the reduction of seismic risk through retrofitting existing buildings in order to meet seismic safety requirements. The planning of alterations to existing buildings differs from new planning through an important condition; the existing construction must be taken as the basis for all planning and building actions. The existing old structures which have mostly been planned without considering this important aspect, pose enormous seismic risk, in particular to human life and historical monuments (Indian Central Public Works Department, 2007).