Earthquake risk reduction

News and Updates

A steel column with a deep web on the left and a steel column with a shallow web on the right.

Proposed Updates to Steel Building Standard Could Enhance Earthquake Resilience

January 7, 2022

Since the mid-1990s, a type of steel column that commonly features slender cross-sectional elements has become more prevalent in buildings along the West Coast

Integrating Science & Technology with Disaster Response

June 1, 2021

Each year, communities across the United States are devastated by disasters. As the frequency, severity, and cost of many of these disasters continues to

Five Experts Named to Earthquake Advisory Board

March 1, 2021

Five new experts were appointed by Walter Copan, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of the National Institute of

Projects and Programs

Energy-based collapse assessment of framed structures for performance-based seismic engineering

Ongoing

The onset of structural collapse is used as the acceptance criterion in performance-based seismic engineering, but there is no consensus on how to define

Validation of ASCE 41 Procedures in PBSE

Completed

Structural engineers are increasingly using Performance-Based Seismic Engineering (PBSE), instead of building code-based prescriptive procedures, in the design

Performance-Based Seismic Engineering (PBSE) for New Buildings Project

Ongoing

Structural collapse demand and capacity are not clearly defined or directly simulated in current Performance-Based Seismic Engineering (PBSE) methodology

Assessment of Available Collapse Simulation Methods for Use in Performance-Based Seismic Engineering Project

Completed

While it is a key aspect of structural analyses that support current Performance-Based Seismic Engineering (PBSE), "structural collapse" is not clearly defined

Publications

ICSSC Biennial Progress Report for 2018: Report on Progress Towards Implementation of Executive Order 13717: Establishing a Federal Earthquake Risk Management Standard - Reporting Period: February 2, 2016 to February 1, 2018

October 21, 2021

Author(s)

John Harris, Katherine Johnson, Steven McCabe

On February 2, 2016, President Obama signed Executive Order (EO) 13717: Establishing a Federal Earthquake Risk Management Standard. The EO establishes a minimum

Lessons on Return to Function After the 2018 Cook Inlet Earthquake

September 30, 2021

Author(s)

Katherine Johnson, Siamak Sattar, Christopher Segura, Steven McCabe

The magnitude 7.1 Cook Inlet Earthquake of November 2018 greatly affected Anchorage, AK area residents. Although shaking likely did not exceed the hazard level

Collapse estimates of U.S. code-compliant steel frames and implications for an ASCE 41 assessment

September 29, 2021

Author(s)

Matthew Speicher, Kevin K F Wong, Jazalyn Dukes

ASCE 41 is a standard that contains performance-based engineering procedures sometimes used to assess and retrofit existing structures. In 2015, the U.S

Performance of Externally Bonded Fiber Reinforced Polymer Retrofits in the 2018 Cook Inlet Earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska

August 11, 2021

Author(s)

Siamak Sattar, David Goodwin, Sandra Milev, Jazalyn Dukes, Christopher Segura

As part of the effort to improve the seismic performance of buildings in Alaska (AK), many of the deficient structures in Anchorage, AK were retrofitted—some