In the wake of the Japan earthquake, I read an interesting article about precautions that may have saved many lives. On top of earthquake and tsunami drills, which prepare the people that live in at-risk areas, hydraulic shock absorbers make Japanese buildings some of the sturdiest in the world.
From the article in the New York Times:
"The isolation devices are essentially giant rubber-and-steel pads that are installed at the very bottom of the excavation for a building, which then simply sits on top of the pads. The dissipation units are built into a building’s structural skeleton. They are hydraulic cylinders that elongate and contract as the building sways, sapping the motion of energy."
You can find the full article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12codes.html?_r=4&hp
From the article in the New York Times:
"The isolation devices are essentially giant rubber-and-steel pads that are installed at the very bottom of the excavation for a building, which then simply sits on top of the pads. The dissipation units are built into a building’s structural skeleton. They are hydraulic cylinders that elongate and contract as the building sways, sapping the motion of energy."
You can find the full article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12codes.html?_r=4&hp
Also, if you would like to make a donation to the Australian Red Cross' "Japan and Pacific Disaster Appeal 2011" to help those affected by the earthquake and tsunami, please follow the link below:
"After the Kobe earthquake... Japan also put enormous resources into... retrofitting the country’s older and more vulnerable structures" - in particular the expressways after the expressways etc were significantly damaged due to that earthquake, those in Tokyo have been reinforced extensively.
ReplyDelete"Japan enforces some of the world’s most stringent building codes" - I can't recall exactly when, but after a previous earthquake it became clear that some/many construction companies were doing the dodgy and not strictly following the codes. In light of this, (as I remember) there was a new regulatory body established, and a new process for approval of building plans such that the codes are followed was introduced.