Abstract

HIDALGO-LEIVA, Diego A.. 30 years later, what did we have learned from the 1991 Limón earthquake in the design of buildings and residences?. Rev. Geol. Amér. Central [online]. 2021, n.65, pp.416-429. ISSN 0256-7024.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/rgac.v0i65.46877.

On April 22, 1991, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7Mw generated a great amount of damage in the structures located in the Caribbean zone of Costa Rica. The follow-up of the earthquake-resistant design code available at that time (Costa Rican Seismic Code 1986), as well as the recommendations given in the current regulations (Costa Rican Seismic Code 2010/14), are used to assess the observed damage in some structures, to identify if they were caused by a breach of the regulations of that date or due to lack of development in the regulations. In this document, three structural typologies are evaluated through representative cases: reinforced concrete buildings, concrete masonry structures, and elevated structures to be flood resistant. For this evaluation, a photographic record available in the Earthquake Engineering Laboratory was analyzed. All photographs were taken by members of the Laboratory during inspection campaigns carried out days after the main event.

Keywords : Earthquake; Damages; Seismic Code; Vulnerability; Earthquake Engineering.

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