The Sichuan (China) and L'Aquila (Italy) earthquakes have again highlighted the question of our preparedness for natural hazards. Within a few seconds, an earthquake can demolish many buildings, destroy infrastructure, and kill and injure thousands of people. In order to reduce the impact of earthquakes on human life and to prepare hospitals to cope with future disasters, this paper discusses earthquake-related damage to healthcare facilities. It investigates the damage to 34 healthcare facilities in seven countries caused by nine earthquakes between 1994 and 2004, in order to determine common and specific issues. The investigation shows that structural and architectural damage tended to be different and specific to the situation, while utility supplies and equipment damage were similar in most cases and some common trends emerged.
Earthquake damage to water supply pipelines during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake was investigated. An overview of the damage to water supply pipelines in the Hanshin area is presented and the relationship between the damage to water supply pipelines in Kobe city, geological features and damage to buildings is discussed. The damage is compared with that which occurred from past earthquakes. The study lead to the following conclusions. (1) The majority of failures occurred in pipelines of relatively small diameter. (2) The damage rates for asbestos cement pipe and vinyl pipe were high. The replacement of old pipe such as asbestos cement pipe is urgently required. (3) Joint separations were extensive. Joint separations for cast iron pipe occurred in the older lead and mechanical joints. (4) Liquefaction caused extensive damage to pipelines. The ductile cast iron pipelines with earthquake-proof joint did not suffer damage even in the liquefied area. The effect of earthquake proof joint was confirmed. (5) Since damage to the pipe fittings such as valves, hydrants, etc., was extensive, the strength of the pipe fittings should be improved.
Hybrid procedure is developed in order to analyze the behavior of buried pipelines in soil liquefaction processes. The procedure presented herein consists of a ground response evaluation using the finite element method and a pipe response analysis using the transfer matrix method. A rise of the ground water table induced by dissipation of excess pore water pressure is considered in the former evaluation. Numerical models show that the unsaturated layer around the pipelines liquefies due to the rise of the ground water table and accumulation of the excess pore water pressure. It is evident from the present study that the response characteristics of the buried pipelines change in the liquefaction process.
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