Construction and Strengthening of Non-Engineered Buildings in Developing Seismic-Prone Countries

摘要

Non-engineered buildings in seismic-prone developing countries account for at least 50% and in some cases more than 90% of the dwelling stock. Approximately 75% of fatalities due to earthquakes during the past century were caused by the collapse of non-engineered weak masonry buildings, thus stressing the need for their improvement to resist earthquakes. Although one solution would be to limit their construction in highly seismic regions, this is not viable due to a number of socio-economic reasons. Therefore, damage-prevention strategies for the new construction of non-engineered structures are proposed. Good practices for seismic-resistant construction and strengthening are presented. Finally, the experience from the 2010 Haiti earthquake serves to highlight points raised in this paper.