THE EARLY YEARS OF EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND ITS MODERN GOAL

Birth and Growth of Earthquake Engineering in the Early Years

Events in the late 19^th century, and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Its Aftermath

During the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, interest in earthquake and their effects increased in Japan, Italy and the United States (Particularly California) (Freeman, 1932; Housner, 1984; Usami, 1988; Hudson, 1992; Elnashai, 2002). This was mainly a consequence of major earthquakes such as; in Japan, the 1855 Edo (usami, 1988); 1891 Mino Awari (Housner, 1984) and 1923 Kanto Eartquakes; in the United States, the 1906 in San Francisco, California and in Italy, the 1908 Messina.

According to Hu et al (1996) “Earthquake Engineering (EE) started at the end of the 19^th century in Europe and afterward, EE developed in Japan at the beginning of the 20^th century”. Usami (1988) stated “The professional practice of EE began after a severely damaging earthquake that struck Tokyo in 1855. Furthermore, Usami (1988) also indicated “in 1914, Sano, a Japanese engineer, marked the beginning of quantitative work in EE in Japan.

On April 18, 1906 a major earthquake (M_w 7,9) struck San Francisco and northern California. More than 430 km of the San Andreas Fault was ruptured during this earthquake, which caused considerable damage in San Francisco and northern California.

As a consequence of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Seismological Society of America (SSA) was established in October 1906, and the structural Association of San Francisco in June 1906. Nearly a century later, the SSA is still a very active prominent organization dealing with various earthquake issues. The meetings of Structural Association of San Francisco were mainly concerned with improving fire protection, and the association faded out of existence in December 1906 (Geschwind, 1996).

Also a result of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, a State Earthquake Investigation Commission was formed. The commission produced two volumes of reports. The first, published in 1908, included detailed suggestions on proper construction of wooden houses and occasional advice on haow buildings might be strengthened against earthquake. The second volume, published in 1910, contained a theoretical discussion od the 1906 earthquake, in which H.F Reid (1910) presented the elastic-rebound Theory of earthquakes.

 

The 1908 Messina (Italy) and The 1923 (Japan) Earthquakes

On December 28, 1908, a large earthquake (magnitude 7,5) devastated the city of Messina (Italy) with a loss of 83.000 – to 120.000 lives. A special commission was formed by the government to investigate the earthquake and to provide recommendations. According to Housner (1984), this earthquake was responsible for the birth of practical earthquake design of structures, and the commission’s report appears to be the first engineering recommendation for earthquake resistant structures by means of equivalent static method.

Fifteen years later, on September 1, 1923, the magnitude 8.3 Kanto (Japan) earthquake caused severe damages in Tokyo and Yokohama. This earthquake also contributed significantly to the progress of earthquake knowledge in Japan, including the establishment of the Earthquake Research Institute . the institute was at the Imperial College of Tokyo and was headed by prof. Kyoji Suyehiro.

 

1925 to 1933

(To Be Contiued……………………..)

 

It took from the book entitle “Earthquake Engineering-From engineering Seismology to Performance-Based Engineering” Edited by Yousef Bozorgnia and Vitelmo V. Bertero.