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Don’t wake a sleeping dragon
Ebba Lövehed, Sweden
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China is a country with high seismic risk. Within the last 100 years, one earthquake higher than Richter magnitude of 7.5 occurred every 5 years in China on average, and a M > 8.0 earthquake occurred about every 10 years. Though China only covers about 7 % of the land area in the world, it has more than 35 % of M > 7 continental earthquakes. In China, 58 % of the whole land area, more than 50 % of the cities and more than 70 % of the urban population are located in an area with high seismic risk. Moreover, most parts of China face the threat of earthquakes. Though most recent earthquakes occurred in the western region, the eastern area with high population intensity is not free of danger.
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake, also known as the Great Sichuan earthquake or Wenchuan earthquake, occurred on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 (7.9) the earthquake’s epicenter was located 80 kilometres west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial capital, with a focal depth of 19 km. Strong aftershocks, some exceeding 6 M, continued to hit the area up to several months after the main shock, causing further casualties and damage. The rush to build schools and other public developments during China’s economic boom had potentially contributed to a somewhat slipshod construction.
The link between buildings is of great signifi cance when it comes to earthquake safety. Buildings that are angled should not be linked in without some kind of support or moveable link, instead of a static one. The building has to be able to move when the ground shakes.
MASTER PLAN
