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FEMA HAZARD
MITIGATION
HANDBOOK SERIES
-----HOME PAGE-----
EARTHQUAKE
HANDBOOK
________________________________
Introduction
Symbols
and Keywords
I.
BUILDING STRUCTURES
A. Introduction
B.
Intro to Seismic Upgrading
C.
Structural Concepts
C1. Technical
Commentary (1)
C2. Technical
Commentary (2)
D.
Step
1: Risk Assessment
D1. Upgrade
Priority
D2. Geographical
Risk
D3. Building
Structural Types
D4. Year
of Construction
D5. Load-path
Assets+Debits
D6. Rapid
Visual Survey Sheet
E. Step
2: Mitigation Measures
II.
UTILITY SYSTEMS
A. Introduction
B. Utility
Mitigation Measures
Appendices
A. Regulations
B. Glossary
C. Acronyms
D. References
E. List
of Contributors
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Chapter
1: Buildings
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STEP
1: RISK
ASSESSMENT
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A risk
assessment
analysis
can be
divided
into the
following
five
categories.
These
categories
of
attributes
apply to
either a
single
facility,
or a group
of
facilities
taken
together.
These
categories
are best
seen as
interactive,
as
information
in one
category
can modify
the
interpretation
of the
information
in
another.
Risk needs
to be
understood
in its
totality.
The risk
of an
earthquake
in a
certain
area only
translates
into a
risk to
the
occupants
or passers
by of a
building
or
structure
if that
structure
is
vulnerable
to heavy
damage or
collapse
from the
particular
shaking
that can
be
generated
at a
particular
site based
on the
interaction
of local
soil
conditions
with the
earthquake.
The
particular
first-phase
analysis
described
in FEMA
154 as the
"Rapid
Visual
Screening"
(RVS) is
designed
only to
classify
buildings
comparatively
in terms
of degree
of risk,
so that
those it
shows at
the top of
the scale
in terms
of risk
may be
analyzed
further.
This can
help to
conserve
resources,
while at
the same
time
directing
a
community's
mitigation
efforts at
its most
vulnerable
assets.
The
links
below
provide an
explanation
of each of
the five
categories
used in
the
information
gathering
process.
Below this
list is a
link to a
downloadable
spreadsheet
that can
be used in
the field
to carry
out a
"Rapid
Visual
Screening"
which has
been
developed
for this
website
from the
paper-based
version in
FEMA
154.
The "Rapid
Visual
Screening"
spreadsheet
accessed
by the
link below
has been
constructed
exclusively
for this
website,
and is
intended
to help
computerize
the FEMA
154 paper
and
pencil-based
form.
Eventually,
a more
sophisticated
PDA-based
RVS
process is
contemplated,
but this
spreadsheet
may
continue
to be a
useful
addition,
as it (1)
requires
no special
software
other than
a
Microsoft-Excel
compatible
spreadsheet
program
mounted on
a PC or a
Macintosh,
and (2) is
completely
transparent
with full
opportunity
for the
user to
add or
change the
modification
factors to
suit local
conditions.
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