Improving Resistance of Masonry Structures to Tsunami Loading

Abstract

The Asian tsunami of 26th December, 2004 took the lives of 2,20,000 people and devastated coastal structures, including many thousands of brick-built homes. Many economically backward people who have made their homes in non-engineered masonry lost their shelters. Though very high waves of tsunami cannot be resisted, waves comparable to the height of the masonry structures can be tolerated by these structures by implementing simple design techniques which are cost effective and can be implemented without any modern equipment. The present study throws light on the issues related to effect of brick orientation, number of openings, orientation and shape of the structures with respect to possible direction of wave movement and effect of support conditions upon the performance of masonry structures subjected to tsunami loading. It has also been noticed that boundary walls acts as a barrier to reduce the effect on the actual structures. In this context, this study may be helpful in framing design guidelines for improving the performance of non-engineered masonry structures under tsunami loading.