Development of Tsunami Design Provisions for the ASCE 7-16 Standard

Abstract

Building design codes in the US do not include any consideration of tsunami design, even though past tsunamis have caused significant structural damage in coastal communities. In February 2011 the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) formed a new Tsunami Loads and Effects subcommittee, which spent four years to develop a new chapter for inclusion in the ASCE7-16 Standard, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures. This new chapter has now been approved by the ASCE7 Main Committee and ASCE7-16 has been published with a new Chapter 6, Tsunami Loads and Effects. In December 2016, ASCE 7–16 was officially adopted by the International Code Council, with the new chapter on Tsunami Loads and Effects, for inclusion in the US model code, IBC 2018. The tsunami design provisions will apply to all coastal communities in California, Oregon, Washington State, Alaska and Hawaii. This paper presents an overview of the new ASCE7-16 Tsunami Loads and Effects design provisions and how they were developed based on field survey observations and laboratory experimentation.