Natural hazards evaluation of existing buildings

A methodology is presented for survey and evaluation of existing buildings to determine the risk to life safety under natural hazard conditions and estimate the amount of expected damage. Damage to both structural and nonstructural building components resulting from the extreme natural environments encountered in earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes is considered. The methodology has the capability of treating a large class of structural types including braced and unbraced steel frames, concrete frames with and without shear walls, bearing wall structures, and long-span roof structures. Three independent but related sets of procedures for estimating damage for each of the natural hazards are included in the methodology. The first set of procedures provides a means for qualitatively determining the damage level on the basis of data collected in field surveys of the building. The second set utilizes a structural analysis of the building to determine the damage level as a function of the behavior of critical elements. The third set is based on a computer analysis of the entire structure. All three sets of procedures are based on the current state-of-the-art. The procedures are presented in a format which allows up-dating and refining. Numerical examples illustrating application of the procedures are included.