Local intraplate earthquake considerations for Singapore

Abstract

The current National Annex for Singapore to Eurocode 8 is primarily to address distant hazards from Sumatra and is not intended to provide coverage for potential local intraplate hazards. The latter type of hazards has safety implications on low-rise structures including many of the aged building construction. It is argued that the absence of local seismic activities in the recorded history within the Malaysian peninsular cannot be used as evidence to justify the assumption that its level of potential local hazards is any lower than other intraplate regions such as Australia, Southern India, and Central and Eastern United States, because of the relative smallness of the landmass of the peninsular. This paper presents a response spectrum model for intraplate earthquakes using relevant data from other regions around the world as opposed to relying on very limited amount of data from regional monitoring. Finally, a response spectrum model that takes into account potential threats from both distant and local seismic sources is recommended for future adoption by Singapore.