Engineering Aspects of the September 19, 1985 Mexico Earthquake (NBS BSS 165)

Published

May 29, 1987

Author(s)

William C. Stone, Felix Y. Yokel, Mehmet Celebi, Thomas Hanks, Edgar V. Leyendecker

Abstract

Following the September 19, 1985 Mexico earthquake, a team consisting of four engineers and one seismologist from the Naitonal Bureau of Standards (NBS)and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) was dispateched to Mexico City to provide technical advice to the U.S. rescue effort and to assess structural damage. This report is primarily based on data gathered by the team, but it also contains a comilation of other available information. The report addresses the origin and characteristics of the observed ground motion, the ability of buildings designed in accordance with present and proposed seismic design provisions to resist this type of ground motion, and observed data on structural and foundation failures.

Citation

Building Science Series - 165

Report Number

165

NIST Pub Series

Building Science Series

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.6028/NBS.BSS.165

Keywords

earthquake, ground motion, seismic design

Citation

Stone, W. , Yokel, F. , Celebi, M. , Hanks, T. and Leyendecker, E. (1987), Engineering Aspects of the September 19, 1985 Mexico Earthquake (NBS BSS 165), Building Science Series, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NBS.BSS.165 (Accessed July 8, 2025)