Correlation Analysis Between Observed Loss of Function in Health Facilities and Seismic Actions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hospitals are a fundamental component of a country’s health system and are considered essential facilities for dealing with the consequences of natural disasters. Nevertheless, hospitals may be highly vulnerable structures. Despite the importance of these facilities, many hospitals have resulted severely damaged, and some of them have lost functionality even when subject to moderate earthquakes. In order to better understand the impact and influence of the seismic performance of non-structural components and systems on health facilities loss of function, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the loss of function degree observed in 17 hospitals affected by earthquakes with moment magnitudes (Mw) ranging between 5.1 and 8.8, located in countries such as the United States, Taiwan, Türkiye, Chile, Italy, El Salvador, Peru, Spain, Ecuador, and Mexico. The observed losses of function are correlated with structural and non-structural damages and the seismic demands imposed by the earthquakes, estimated from the accelerograms recorded at the closest seismological stations. As a result, the seismic demands triggering the non-structural damage states, and consequently the degree of function loss of the health infrastructure, are presented. Loss of function is classified as low or null, temporary, and permanent. It is observed that the seismic demands that limit the operation during earthquakes correspond to average roof drifts in the order of 1.0‰ and average peak floor accelerations in the range 0.16–0.23 g, highlighting the need for using seismic isolation technologies and implementing strict nonstructural design measures.