Earthquakes:

Designing Against Death

Figure 1 1906 Destruction of San Francisco

Presented by: The International Code Council

Table of Contents
Table of Figures............................................................................................................................................2
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................3
Effects that Earthquakes have on construction and your wellbeing............................................................3
Infrastructure...........................................................................................................................................3
Early Warning System..............................................................................................................................4
Technology and Codes used around the world for these problems.............................................................4
Building Codes.........................................................................................................................................4
Seismographs..........................................................................................................................................5
How these codes and protocols ensure safety.............................................................................................5
Infrastructure Solution.............................................................................................................................5
Early warning system solution.................................................................................................................5
How these changes affect certain countries............................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................6

Table of Figures
Figure 1 1906 Destruction of San Francisco.................................................................................................1
Figure 2 Tectonic plate map.........................................................................................................................3
Figure 3 Seismograph used to detect Earthquakes......................................................................................4
Figure 4 Base Isolators used for earthquakes..............................................................................................5

Executive Summary
Earthquakes are movements within the
earth's crust (the ground we walk on every
day) or volcanic action that causes the
ground to shake, sometimes being violent
and destructive or completely unnoticeable. Though what can we do to deter the destruction and
death caused by them? Many countries have poor infrastructure and no early warning systems
set up to warn people of the coming dangers. Along with little to no access to global resources on
how other countries deal with this issue. Possible solutions to this problem would be to make the
International Building Codes (IBC) more available to those that want to use it along with sending
a qualified individual who is licensed and experienced in construction to whatever country is
needing help. While also giving the country the necessary tools to sense an earthquake early.
Which would help any country in need of strengthening their resistance to earthquakes and to
help ensure the safety of their citizens. Leading to many lives being saved and a strong
international standard for how to design structures to handle earthquakes and keep citizens
informed, safe, and alive.

Effects that Earthquakes have on construction and your wellbeing.

Earthquakes can be some of the most detrimental natural disasters that can affect any community, but
what are they and how can they be deterred? Earthquakes are movements within the earth's crust
or volcanic action that causes the ground to shake, sometimes being violent and destructive or
completely unnoticeable. These effects can be seen all around the world in different communities that
are heavily affected by earthquakes. Each community can be affected for months or even years after an
earthquake, sometimes not even being able to fully recover before the next natural disaster hits. Most
3rd world countries will see the most effects on them and will be dealing with the aftereffects for the
longest amount of time. So, developing the proper construction codes and early warning systems are
imperative to human life.

Infrastructure
The biggest and most noticeable effect from earthquakes is the effects on the infrastructure on a
community. Many countries do not have the proper building codes set up to be able to handle these
issues. For example, as of June 22, 2023, India has had two earthquakes in the last week and 119 in the
last 365 days. Yet they consistently see destruction of buildings and cannot build more than a few stories
to avoid having the structure fall. Finding a way to add structure and design to whatever is being built
would not only help lower the costs of rebuilding but also save lives.

Early Warning System

Early waning systems are another issue that many countries face. In the United States texts are
sent to our phones from the government warning citizens or even hear sirens going off in the
distance. Many other countries that do not have the financial budget of the United States do not
have these luxuries. Many of them do not even have the luxury of being able to use a
seismograph to be able to detect the slightest movement of the Earth’s crust. Serigraphs are
devices that are securely mounted to the earth’s surface and can detect the smallest vibration to
indicate the movement of the earth’s service. Without any tools like this, by the time anything is
noticed, it is usually too late to warn anyone or take action to prepare.
Technology and Codes used around the world for these problems.
With all the issues with infrastructure and early warning systems listed above many would think
that with all the parts of the world that are affected by earthquakes that someone would have
discovered a solution to resolve or at least mitigate these issues. Thinking this would be right,
many countries like the United States and China have dealt with ways to deal with earthquakes.
For infrastructure they have developed building codes that are specialized instructions for
necessary requirements when building in construction zones. Along with having up to date
technology that can give early warnings to earthquakes about to hit the area. With the issue
coming down to the countries that do not have this in place and do not have the resources or
experience to successfully execute that solutions other countries already have.
Building Codes
Building codes are the backbone to any country that wants to ensure safety and consistency when
building any structure. With many countries not having access to a lot of the same data that has been
collected by other countries, this can cause their codes to be outdated or not applicable in certain
situations. Which leads to international codes coming into play. These codes are an international
standard for construction focused on giving communities safety and consistency when they are being
constructed. These codes make up the backbone to construction and are already used by multiple
countries around the world. The main codes used that would be able to increase a building stability
would be any codes specifically relating to concrete, rebar, steel with a focus on how the footers
(Stabilizers for the building) are built along with understanding how to properly install the steal to deal
with vertical and horizontal loads from the earth moving. When it comes to the United States, they have
had years of experience when dealing with earthquakes. With all the information recorded and
implemented daily in places like San Francisco, California. Through the international Codes this
information could be easily shared, and a knowledge official sent to the countries struggling with having
their own set of codes to teach it and make the world a safer and more structurally sound place.

Seismographs
Seismographs are a tool that has been around for decades
and are the simplest way to detect earthquakes early. Getting
one of these in every country is imperative to be able to
detect earthquakes and get out the proper information to
citizens. Seismographs are mounted directly to the surface of
the earth and can detect the smallest movements of the
earth’s crust. When it reaches past a certain Threshold this is
when the people monitoring the device can let the world
know there is an issue and send out the necessary Figure 3 Seismograph used to detect Earthquakes.
information making sure people get somewhere safe and
secure and do not get killed in a situation that could have been easily avoidable.

How these codes and protocols ensure safety.

With the proposed solutions above, if they are properly implemented can lead to a safer world and the
saving of many lives. The biggest hurdle to this will be ensuring that the language gaps can be crossed,
making all code standards easy to read. Along with making sure that the financial aspect of the start up
can be covered for training and getting the necessary research materials.

Infrastructure Solution
As addressed earlier the solution to
building around the world can be reached
if we are able to come together with
getting the proper resources to the
affected communities. Right now, the
biggest issues with earthquakes is not
every country having strict set of building
codes when it comes to building
structures. A given example is the
building codes used in the United States
specifically San Francisco. The codes have
gotten so advanced that San Francisco
uses base isolators which act like a shock
on your car to absorb vibrations, so the Figure 4 Base Isolators used for earthquakes.
structure does not fail. With this breakthrough in technology, it has become more common to find them
as they help to avoid damage from earthquakes. The biggest challenges that we face to get these
building codes satndards implmeted across the entire world to create a higher standard of construction
is the language barriers, the access to technolgy, and funding. All of which are things that can be
approached with the local governments to work out a deal to get things to become safer.

Early warning system solution

Putting early warning systems in place to warn people of the coming earthquakes is another way to
avoid death and destruction. Seismographs are the best and easiest solution to this, but we face similar
issues as to the above referenced for building codes. These machines would need scientists who know
how to read them and translate the data to determine if there is a risk of an earthquake. Then if there is
they would need to take the next step of having a system set up to notify everyone. Whether it be over
an early warning sound system or by sending a message to all radios and phones about the impending
danger. Financing is another issue with this solution, and it would need to be brought up with the local
government to get it funded and properly executed.

How these changes affect certain countries.

Every country will be affected differently by the addition of building codes and early warning systems.
This means depending on the location of fault lines the codes will have to be implemented a lot more or
a lot less. Each geographical region also has very different building conditions. Referring to the soil
existing in the ground along with the weather of the area. If the buildings get snow on them this will play
another factor in what codes will need to be implemented. There is still a long way to go to get
uniformity and proper infrastructure to all countries though if the world polls together its efforts
earthquakes and the effects they have can br significantly decreased.
 Conclusion
If these solutions were to be implemented, it would help to make the world a safer place. This would be
noticeable through structures in earthquake heavy areas having a longer life span and not being knocked
over by earthquakes. Which in turn would save lives as falling structures usually tend to cause issues for
those inside of them and around them. The early warning system would help notify people to get inside
one of the safe structures nearby or to take cover to avoid the possibility of getting hurt by a falling
building. Overall improving everyone’s lives and making these less desirable areas a better location for
anyone looking to move.

References
admin. “The International Building Code.” ICC (blog), March 20, 2015. https://www.iccsafe.org/products-and-
services/i-codes/2018-i-codes/ibc/.

nstankov@iccsafe.org. “Codes & Standards.” ICC (blog), May 18, 2020.

https://www.iccsafe.org/products-and-services/codes-standards/.

Reaktion Books. “Checkout.” Accessed June 21, 2023. https://reaktionbooks.co.uk/checkout.

“How Seismographs Work | Live Science.” Accessed June 21, 2023. https://www.livescience.com/6210-
seismographs-work.html.

“The Largest Earthquakes in India.” Accessed June 21, 2023.

https://earthquaketrack.com/p/india/biggest.

Nisa, Jannat Un. “These Are The Top 5 Most Earthquake Proof Structures From Around The
World.” Wonderful Engineering (blog), August 30, 2020.
https://wonderfulengineering.com/these-are-the-top-5-most-earthquake-proof-structures-from-
around-the-world/.