Observed damages in Pakistan due to 16 April 2013 Iran earthquake

Abstract

This paper presents the record of damages which were observed in Pakistan due to a strong earthquake on 16 April 2013 in Iran. Mashkel was the nearest town in Pakistan close to the epicentre of earthquake. The damages were documented by a survey team during the visit of Mashkel. The intensity of earthquake in most of the visited areas was found to be VIII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. The infrastructure facilities were undamaged and were operating satisfactorily. On the other hand, heavy damage to adobe buildings was caused by the earthquake. Most of the building failure was resulted by the out-of-plane wall collapse; nearly 40 % adobe buildings were collapsed due to ground shaking in some of the affected areas. Reinforced concrete and cement concrete block masonry buildings performed better than adobe buildings. Using the data of building damage and earthquake intensity fragility curves for adobe buildings in Mashkel were developed.