The February 27, 2010 Chile Earthquake

Roberto Leon
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA 30332-0355

Importance of this Event

3rd largest earthquake in modern times best proof of where our infrastructure is at. Building codes in Chile are very similar to the USA (ACI, AISC, etc.) what works and what does not? Well-developed economy direct and indirect losses can be translated to USA. Design earthquake or above? Human losses (about 450 deaths) and direct economic losses (up to $30B) can this be translated to Seattle?

A Brief Description of Chile

Area = Population = GDP (PPP) = Capital: Main cities: 292,183 square miles 17.0 million $14,529 (43rd) Santiago (about 5.5 million) Valparaiso (0.8 million) Concepcion ( 0.66 million)

2000 x 150 miles Strong economic growth over the past 15 years best in Latin America Most important exports are minerals and agricultural products Strong democracy following long military dictatorship Excellent health and education infrastructure

Long, narrow territory = lack of alternate paths for all communications and services ww.mapsofworld.com

Pacific Rim of Fire

Vancouver Seattle Portland

SUBDUCTION PLATE INTERACTION

West
Pacific Ocean
Nazca Plate South American Plate

Marine trench

Coastline

Andes mountain range

East

Intraplate (medium depth) Intraplate (low depth - volcanic) Interplate (Benioff Zone )
1994 Bolivia Earthquake (Ms = 8.2; depth = 600 km

Redrawn after R. Saragoni ( U. of Chile)

2.5 cm./year

SUBDUCTION ZONE
Name 1985 Santiago Ms 8.0

15.6 cm./year

South American plate

Nazca plate

1995 Antofagasta
1906 Valparaso 1943 Coquimbo 1922 Vallenar

8.0
8.2 8.2 8.5 8.8

5.9 cm./year

2010 Maule

1960 Valdivia

9.5

One major earthquake about every 15 years!

Redrawn after R. Saragoni ( U. of Chile)

Chile
Coastal mountain range: rugged deep valleys, Concepcion is only large flat area near the coast, heavy industry concentrated there no coastal highway, forestry industry in the South, important ports Andes mountain range: High , very cold Mostly uninhabited Skiing Central valley: Heavy agriculture (fruits and wine) Main communication routes Numerous small cities with older building stock (Rancagua, Talca, Chillon, Temuco)
http://www.mapsorama.com/maps/south-america/chile/Chile_topo.jpg

2010 Maule (Ms = 8.8)

1960 Valdivia (Ms = 9.5)

February 27, 2010 Earthquake Ms = 8.8 Off Maule Coast

R. Saragoni ( U. of Chile)

Length of rupture = 400 to 450 km

Accelerograms Santiago

Epicenter: 335 km (210 miles) SW of SANTIAGO, Chile Soto &Boroscheck U. of Chile - wwww.terremotosuchile.cl

Spectrum from Santiago

Soto &Boroscheck U. of Chile - wwww.terremotosuchile.cl

A trip though Chile

Via del Mar/ Valparaiso Constitucion Santiago Talcahuano Concepcion Coronel
Lots of damage pictures to come but performance of most structures was excellent

Via del Mar

Older RC Buildings
USA buildings = 1.0% to 1.5% walls

Chilean buildings = 5 to 6% walls

Wallace, J. & Moehle, J., ASCE JSE 118(4), 1992

Festival building had survived the 1985 earthquake with some damage

Older RC Buildings

Wallace, J. & Moehle, J., ASCE JSE 118(4), 1992

Stairs linking both buildings heavily damaged

Wallace, J. & Moehle, J., ASCE JSE 118(4), 1992

Damage to modern RC buildings

Crushed shear walls at transition zones

Poorly detailed boundary elements for shear walls

Poorly detailed boundary elements for shear walls

USA wall with boundary elements

Is this repairable?

Chilean wall without boundary elements

Other examples of modern damaged RC buildings

Non-Structural Damage to Walls

Non-Structural Damage to Equipment

How many and how badly damaged?

Santiago

Building 1

Plaza Mayor
Radisson

Ciudad Empresarial

Plaza Mayor Ciudad Empresarial

Plaza Mayor Ciudad Empresarial

Plaza Mayor Ciudad Empresarial

Radisson Hotel Ciudad Empresarial

Damage to Condominiums Parque Hipico

Shear failures in walls Large cracks and crushing in slabs near connections to walls Failure of very slender columns

Plaza Mayor Ciudad Empresarial

Santiago

Ciudad Empresarial & Vespucio Norte

Vespucio Norte Tollway Santiagos Ring Road

Typical interchange

Presstresed Girders Bridges

Poor lateral support of girders at skew abutments

Vespucio Norte - Collapsed Spans

Insufficoent bearing length to accommodate longitudinal movement

Vespucio Norte Collapsed Spans

Poor detailing of longitudinal and transverse restraints

Vespucio Norte Collapsed Spans

Continuous, heavily reinforced slabs over the interior supports

Plaza Norte Shopping Center

Local anchorage failures leading to partial collapse of roof and floor slabs, and large out-of-plane movements in precast wall panels

Large Warehouse

Failure of precast exterior panels due to improper anchorage (damaged portions being replaced by light steel cladding). Storage racks performed very well even if they had only minimal anchorage

A trip though Chile

Via del Mar/ Valparaiso Constitucion Santiago Talcahuano Concepcion Coronel

Rute 5 Main North-South Tollway

Evidence of large settlements in backfill areas

Damaged bridges Ruta 5 Rancagua Area

Damaged bridges Ruta 5 Granero Area

Damaged bridges Ruta 5 Granero Area

Older bridge between San Antonio and Santo Domingo

Note large horizontal displacements

Older bridge between San Antonio and Santo Domingo

Note large horizontal, rigid body displacement

Older Adobe Buildings La Fortuna Winery

Caskets on ground La Fortuna Winery

Buckled tanks La Fortuna Winery

Overturned tanks La Fortuna Winery

Bio-Bio Cement Plant

Fine shear cracks in large storage silos

Buckled braces near the top of bagging facility

Constitucion - Chile

Arauco pulp factory Downtown Tsunami

Constitucion Largest City near Epicenter

Constitucion Largest City near Epicenter

Constitucion Largest City near Epicenter

Constitucion Largest City near Epicenter

Constitucion Tsumani area

Constitucion Tsunami Area

Constitucion Tsunami Area

Constitucion Tsunami Area

Arauco Brown Paper Plant

A trip though Chile

Via del Mar/ Valparaiso Constitucion Santiago Talcahuano Concepcion Coronel

Tahualcano Tsunami Area

Tahualcano Tsunami Area

Tahualcano Tsunami Area

Tahualcano Tsunami Area

Concepcion Collapsed Buildings

Concepcion Collapsed Buildings

Concepcion Collapsed Buildings

Concepcion Collapsed Buildings

Industrial Facilities

Santa Maria Power Plant (Coronel (50% complete)

Industrial Facilities

Santa Maria Power Plant Generator Building

Potential damage to generator as it was in the final stages of being aligned when the earthquake struck

Industrial Facilities

Santa Maria Power Plant

Coal Storage Facility

Distribution cart damaged

Industrial Facilities

Santa Maria Power Plant Coal Storage Facility

Distribution cart damaged

Port of Coronel
New base-isolated wharf and cranes undamaged

Some evidence of ground movements in storage areas

Damaged steel trusses in warehouses probably due to collisions and not earthquake

Port of San Vicente Tsunami Damage

Damage to old canning plant from tsunami dragging unloading pipes; towers connected to pipes were tipped over; evidence of large settlements

Summary
Much of the infrastructure did very well but importance of using codes in their entirety was highlighted Vulnerabilities of some privately-controlled infrastructure (tollways, communications, etc.) was evident Emergency response could have been better: tsunami evacuation, use of the military,.. Human losses (about 450 deaths) and direct economic losses (up to $30B) Recovery efforts: $750M for first phase and $700M in second phase