The significance of the 21 September 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan, for tall buildings

Abstract

Shortly after the 21 September 1999 earthquake, the Los Angeles Tall Buildings Structural Design Council (LATBSDC) became concerned about the casualty and damage reports from Taiwan. The most alarming reports were the reports of damage to, and collapse of, many tall buildings resulting in much injury and death. It was our belief that Taiwan's building code was based on the same model building codes used in California and most of the seismically active regions of the United States. It was also believed that the construction practices were similar to those in the western United States. In addition, the type of faulting on the causative fault is similar to the thrust faults that underlie southern California, and the magnitude of the Taiwan earthquake is similar to the size that is postulated for some of the thrust faults in southern California. The LATBSDC dispatched an earthquake investigation team to make a reconnaissance of the strongly affected area in central Taiwan. The main purpose of the investigation was to confirm the reports of damage and collapse of tall buildings and to determine the reasons for the high susceptibility of tall buildings in this earthquake event. It was discovered that although Taiwan has a building code that has seismic provisions that are similar to those used in the United States, there is poor application and enforcement of the code. Also, construction practices in Taiwan may create situations that make tall buildings more vulnerable to strong ground shaking. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.