RESIDENTIAL SECURITY AS RELATED TO PERCEIVED AND ASSESSED EFFECTS TO STRONG GROUND MOTION RECORDINGS

• Main Authors: Jon Börkur Akason, Ragnar Sigbjörnsson
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.472.6303; http://www.iitk.ac.in/nicee/wcee/article/13_2333.pdf

A case study of the perceived effects of earthquakes and their relation to strong motion recordings, with regard to human security inside residential houses, is presented. The cases considered are the South Iceland Earthquakes on the 17th and 21st of June 2000. The highest recorded ground accelerations in these events are respectively 64 % g (Mw = 6.6) and 84 % g (Mw = 6.5), and the highest assessed intensities are, respectively, MMI XI and IX. Dwellings and inhabitants in the epicentral areas were chosen for the study. The data on perceived effects were obtained through field surveys, using standardised question-naires as well as personal in-depth interviews. Detailed descriptions of the behaviour of the people experiencing the earthquakes are given. This includes accounts of both psychological and physical effects. In all cases the dwellings are low-rise, single-family farmhouses located in a rural area. The structural material is cast-in-situ concrete, timber, and ‘masonry’. Altogether 168 dwellings, housing approximately 600 people, are considered. The analysis of the collected data is both qualitative and quantitative. Intensity assessments, using the MMI-scale were obtained for all the strong motion stations in the Icelandic Strong Motion Network in South Iceland as well as for every farm in the sample. The interpretation and analysis of the collected data are still going on.