"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Urban Systems
Wildfire Buffer Zones
02/27/23
“How can we create plant-based defensible zones for wildfires?”
Wildfires spread quickly over dead plant materials. However, by creating zones of around human spaces of fire-resistant plants, we can create defenses to prevent such spread. These Wildfire Buffer Zones are an optimal way to increase resilience to wildfires and enhance community security.
Soft Story Building Retrofits
02/26/23
“How can we retrofit soft-story buildings?”
Soft story buildings are incredibly vulnerable to earthquakes. Their weak ground floors make structural collapse easy during ground shaking. But by performing Soft Story Building Retrofits, we can strengthen the ground floor and decrease the damage potential. Governments should look into these techniques to create disaster resilience.
As of writing, victims of the 2023 Türkiye – Syria earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.
Image credit optimumseismic.com
Why Soft Story Building Caused So Much Damage During the Earthquake in Türkiye
02/25/23
“Why did soft story buildings cause so much damage during the earthquake in Türkiye?”
Soft story buildings are prone to collapse and “pancake” during earthquakes. Despite Türkiye being prone to earthquake disasters, a very large percentage of its structures are soft stories. During the 1999 Izmit earthquake, it was recorded that nearly 85 – 90 percent of all damaged/collapsed buildings were soft story. Despite lessons learned from previous earthquakes, the Erdogan regime continued to build these structures in its infrastructure boom. When the 2023 earthquake came, these buildings caused tens of thousands of people to be trapped under heavy concrete. This is Why Soft Story Building Caused So Much Damage During the Earthquake in Türkiye.
Image credit bbc.co.uk
Soft Story Buildings
02/23/23
“What are soft story buildings?”
Multistory buildings come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. However, sometimes they’re built with a first floor with significantly less stiffness than the stories above it. These usually come in structures with parking spaces or open commercial spaces on the ground level. This lack of support often causes the building to “pancake” (falling on top of itself) during earthquakes. Engineers and Earthquake Planners have termed these buildings Soft Story Buildings and are some of the most dangerous urban earthquake hazards.
As of writing, victims of the 2023 Türkiye – Syria earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.
Image credit Wikimedia.org
Why Earthquake Planners Should Consider Aftershocks
02/20/23
“Why should earthquake planners consider aftershocks?”
Earthquakes are made much more dangerous with aftershocks. Infrastructure that may have affected survived the first round of shaking will be decimated by the next. If earthquake planners take aftershocks into account, cities can avoid much of the pain associated with these events. Possible implementations include designing buildings to withstand earthquakes far beyond what is expected and incorporating redundancy in edifice design. This is Why Earthquake Planners Should Consider Aftershocks.
As of writing, victims of the 2023 Türkiye – Syria earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.
Why The 2023 Türkiye–Syria Earthquakes Are Leaving Scores of People Homeless
02/19/23
“Why are the 2023 Türkiye–Syria Earthquakes Leaving Scores of People Homeless?”
The 2023 Türkiye–Syria Earthquakes have demolished much of the built environments in both countries. Many people are now forced to find shelter because their homes have been shaken to the ground. This has been a feature of past earthquakes in Türkiye. In 1999, the Izmit Earthquake left over a quarter-million people homeless. This is Why The 2023 Türkiye–Syria Earthquakes Are Leaving Scores of People Homeless.
As of writing, victims of the 2023 Türkiye – Syria earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.
Why the Richter Scale Is Not Always the Best Way to Measure Earthquakes
02/18/22
“Why is the Richter Scale not always the best way to measure earthquakes?”
The Richter scale is one of the most common ways to measure earthquakes around the world. It’s based on taking the logarithm of the maximum amplitude of a seismic wave. However, this doesn’t capture what makes an earthquake so drastic. First of all, it doesn’t look into how continuous shaking over a longer period of time may cause intense pain. Also, The Richter scale measures earthquake from 0 to 10, and anything above 10 and below 2 is usually not well captured. Furthermore, it doesn’t look into how large the surrounding population is and how fragile is local infrastructure. A quake of a smaller magnitude can cause more damage if there are more people and buildings are in worse shape. This is Why the Richter Scale Is Not Always the Best Way to Measure Earthquakes.
As of writing, victims of the 2023 Türkiye – Syria earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.
Why Earthquake Safety Instructions are Important for Students
02/17/23
“Why is it important for students to learn about earthquake safety?”
Countries all over the world are prone to earthquakes, from the Bosphorus to the San Francisco Bay. These disasters can strike at any time and wreak havoc on the community. Children are especially vulnerable to these events. To help prepare them, they need to learn about how to respond to earthquakes in school. This is Why Earthquake Safety Instructions are Important for Students.
As of writing, victims of the 2023 Türkiye – Syria earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.
Why the 2023 Türkiye–Syria Earthquake Is Leading to a Disease Outbreak
02/15/23
“Why is the 2023 Türkiye–Syria leading to a disease outbreak?”
Infrastructure across Southeastern Türkiye and Northwestern Syria has been pulverized by the 2023 earthquake. Water sanitation has been no exception. As clean water has been made undeliverable, survivors are finding it hard to wash themselves and stay away from diseases. In addition, the little local water people are able to find is likely not purified and full of pathogens and parasites. Pulling everything together, it’s clear Why the 2023 Türkiye–Syria Earthquake Is Leading to a Disease Outbreak.
As of writing, victims of the earthquake are continuing to face great difficulties in their daily life. To make a difference, please make a donation to organizations such as the Syrian White Helmets and the Anatolian Arts Institute Earthquake Relief Fund. My friends are also connecting donations to small municipalities and vetted organizations through the venmo account @earthquake-relief. Anything you send will go a long way.
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