Implications of Site Effects in the Mexico City Earthquake of September 19, 1985 for Earthquake-Resistant Design Criteria in the San Francisco Bay Area of California

摘要

One of the most dramatic aspects of the earthquake effects in the Mexico City earthquake of September 19, 1985 was the enormous differences in intensities of shaking and associated building damage in different parts of the city. The report examines the factors which are likely to have influenced the response and degree of damage to structures in the heavy damage area of Mexico City in the earthquake of 1985, attempts to relate these factors to the intensity of damage which occurred, uses the results of the studies to examine the possible extent of damage to structures constructed on sites underlain by clay in other seismic regions, such as the San Francisco Bay area, which like Mexico City, is located near the edge of a deep deposit of clay soil, examines the implications of structural performance in Mexico City for buildings in San Francisco in the light of the seismicity of the region, and examines the effects of possible modifications in building codes which might seem desirable in the light of the Mexico City disaster in 1985.