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Short Guide After an Earthquake in Buildings or Tall Buildings

After the earthquake, Building Management in a high-rise building, is obliged to examine the damage that has occurred to the building structure.

Initial inspection can be carried out visually to ensure the safety of the condition of the building after the earthquake, starting from checking the main structure that is visible.

I. Column or Pillar

What can be directly observed are columns or pillars.

• If the condition and form don't change, then there's no problem.
• If there are cracks, it must be seen further, whether there are cracks or not.
• If there is a crack, look carefully to see if the crack is only on the surface or is there a possibility of getting inside.

If you are sure that it is only on the surface, it means that only the finishing material is damaged (for example, only the plaster or other wrapping material is damaged).

However, if you see a deep enough crack (until you can see the metal) or you can see a change in the shape of the column, for example tilted or bent, you should be wary of it and isolate the area.

In a damaged condition like the picture above, before repairs are carried out, further tests must be carried out to ensure that the structure can still be repaired or not, so that the repairs made are not in vain or it is better to just replace them immediately.

To be sure, you can also measure the crack depth with UPV (ultrasonic pulse velocity).

II. Ground Floor and Rooftop

What can be directly observed is the ground floor and rooftop floor. If there is a change in the elevation of the floor surface, for example wavy, or collapsed, or broken and its position around the column, it could be due to damage or shifting or subsidence of the foundation.

But if there is no damage to the column, it is not certain that it is due to damage or shifting of the foundation.

And after the next inspection, namely the beams, if no damage is found, then the damage is only on the ground floor or rooftop floor.

If there is damage to the floor, to ensure that it is not damage to the foundation, do a thorough inspection to see if there is damage to the nearest column.

If there are none, check whether there are cracks in the beam and beam column joints.

If there is no damage to the columns and beams, it is possible that the soil will only settle under the ground floor covering, so there is no potential to cause a collapse of the structure.

III. Block

Beams are part of the building structure that supports the weight of the floor slab. Beams that cross connecting one column to another are called main beams. Meanwhile, joist beams, which are usually smaller, function to divide the load if the span of the slab is too long and usually hold the load on the two main beams at the ends.

To check beams, you generally have to dismantle the ceiling. In order not to disassemble the ceiling too much, prioritize checking the connection between the beam (main) and the column. Check whether the condition of the joints between the beams and columns and the conditions at the ends of the beams near the columns are in good condition, there are no cracks and shifts.

If a damaged condition like this is to be repaired, further testing must be carried out to ensure that the structure can still be repaired or not, so that the repairs to be carried out are not in vain.

Cracks in beam joints that are not dangerous, if only the surface or finishing parts are damaged, they can be repaired and tidied up immediately.

But to be sure, make sure there is a decline in the beam or shift in the beam, if there is none, it can be repaired and tidied up again immediately

The three structural elements above columns, beams and foundations are structural elements which if damaged can result in a building collapse, so inspection of these elements must be prioritized.

IV. Stairs

Make sure the connection between the ladder and the beam or floor is in good condition, there are no large cracks and shifts.

If you are sure that only small cracks have occurred, you don't need to worry, but if there are large cracks you should not pass them before repairs and strengthening are carried out, use another access route.

Although damage to the ladder does not cause a potential collapse of the structure, the collapse of the ladder can be very dangerous.

V. Roof

What can be observed easily is the roof covering. Pay attention to whether there is a change in shape or shift in the roof covering. Damage to the roof truss is usually related to the supports underneath, namely columns and beams

As long as the columns and beams are fine, there should be no problem.

However, there's nothing wrong with making sure of the roof frame, of course it has to be seen from below, usually by dismantling the ceiling. Make sure there are no loose frame connections.

If there is a roof covering that is sagging or a part of the roof covering material that has fallen off, as long as the frame is okay, you don't need to worry, just do a local repair.

Next, pay attention to the ceiling or ceiling, make sure there are no cracks, if there are enough to do local repairs, even though it doesn't have the potential to cause a collapse of the structure, still if it falls it could fall on and injure people.

VI. Non Structural Elements

Other building elements such as walls, windows, doors, sills, ceilings, partitions and floors are called non-structural elements.

The non-structural elements that are easily visible to observe the damage caused by the earthquake are walls and windows. If the damage is on a small scale, such as a part of the wall is cracked, a glass window is broken or the ceiling is falling, but as long as the main structure (columns, beams, roof and foundation) is still in good condition, then this can be overcome.

Even if there is a wall that collapses, it is enough just to do renovations at locations that are damaged.

Note that, still the name of the damage to the building should be repaired immediately, to avoid unwanted incidents, for example, the kitchen set fell because of a wall crack, a chandelier fell because of a cracked floor or other things that have the potential to injure the user.

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If after an initial inspection of the building structure there is no indication of damage to the structural elements, it means the building is in a safe condition, it is sufficient to carry out repairs to the damaged locations.

But if you find damage to the structural elements such as deep enough cracked columns, rising/falling floors under columns, cracked beam and column joints in multiple locations, contact a professional contractor immediately.

So those are some short guidelines after an earthquake, keep up the spirit and always be vigilant wherever we are!

Biru Engineering Team

Call Us for Better Solustion on IG: @birufms.id & www.birufms.com