!"#$%%&'((&%#" &%) !"*$+, *&+,'&--. (/**$+,") 0.1 23" 4&#'5'# 6&+,37/&8" 6%9'%""+'%9 !"("&+#3 :"%,"+ ;466!

<
!"#$%&%'(") *#+,''(%--('+# *#.,"/ " 01 2('3(") 1404 5(%/% 6("/783(9#
!"#$%"& '()%%& $*" +,*-.($ /)%%, &0 1'/ !*2(*))%34 5*67
:'/",;3+/%,'
AfLer 240 years of lnacLlvlLy, Lhe Lnrlqulllo lanLaln Carden laulL rupLured on 12 !anuary 2010 aL 4:33M
local Llme, resulLlng ln a 7.0 magnlLude (uSCS) earLhquake ln Lhe vlclnlLy of orL"au"rlnce, PalLl. 1he
eplcenLer was locaLed aL 18.437n and 72.333W and 23 km (13 mlles) WSW of orL"au"rlnce. 1he
rupLure occurred aL a shallow depLh of 13 km (8.1 mlles).
1he earLhquake has been an unmlLlgaLed dlsasLer for PalLl, aL Lhe Llme of Lhls wrlLlng Lhere are 170,000
conflrmed deaLhs wlLh esLlmaLes of over 200,000 deaLhs. 1housands more are ln[ured, Lhousands are
homeless, and Lhousands have already fled orL"au"rlnce. 1he ="> ?$+8 2'@"( reporLed on !anuary 28,
2010, LhaL 20,000 commerclal sLrucLures and 223,000 resldences had collapsed or suffered severe
damage and wlll need Lo be demollshed. 1he PalLlan governmenL ls ln shambles, Lhe naLlonal alace,
alace of !usLlce, naLlonal Assembly, Supreme CourL, rlson Clvlle de orL"au"rlnce, and bulldlngs
houslng Lhe mlnlsLrles of flnance, educaLlon, publlc works, communlcaLlon, and culLure have all been
damaged. Munlclpal governmenL bulldlngs ln orL"au"rlnce suffered slmllar damage. ower, waLer,
and communlcaLlons have been dlsrupLed. ln splLe of lnLernaLlonal efforLs, Lhere are desperaLe
shorLages of waLer, food, and medlcal care. 1he MlnlsLer of LducaLlon sLaLed LhaL Lhe educaLlon sysLem
ln PalLl had LoLally collapsed", half Lhe naLlon's schools and Lhe Lhree maln unlverslLles suffered severe
damage. (Wlklpedla)
As Lhe pooresL naLlon ln Lhe wesLern hemlsphere, PalLl has been sLruggllng Lo pull lLs people ouL of
poverLy. lL ls perhaps noL surprlslng LhaL few PalLlans appeared Lo have any awareness LhaL Lhey were
llvlng ln an acLlve selsmlc zone, 240 years ls a long Llme Lo nurLure a memory of earLhquakes when
hunger and hurrlcanes are more lmmedlaLely presslng concerns. neverLheless, Lhe consequences of
bulldlng wlLhouL selsmlc deLalllng have been sLaggerlng.
1hls prellmlnary reporL ls based on fleld reconnalssance by Lduardo llerro, resldenL of 8l Lnglneers,
lnc. ln 8erkeley, Callfornla. Mr. llerro has performed reconnalssance afLer many prevlous earLhquakes
and has esLabllshed relaLlons wlLh Lhe selsmlc englneerlng communlLy ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc where
he and rof. vlLelmo 8erLero have been lecLurlng on selsmlc deslgn slnce 2003. A cenLer dedlcaLed Lo
Lhe sLudy of proLecLlon agalnsL naLural dlsasLers was founded ln SanLlago u8 ln 2008 bearlng Lhe name
of rof. 8erLero (lnsLlLuLo uomlnlcano de lngenlerla Superlor y uesasLres naLurales "vlLelmo 8erLero"
lnc. (lulSuLn)).
Mr. llerro lefL 8erkeley on !anuary 12, Lraveled Lo SanLlago u8, and along wlLh several uomlnlcan
englneers from lulSuLn, was on Lhe ground ln orL"au"rlnce on 1hursday !anuary 14. Pls phoLos and
observaLlons were made from !anuary 14 Lo 20, 2010. 1he prlmary ob[ecLlve of Lhls lnlLlal Lrlp was Lo
observe Lhe performance of bulldlng sLrucLures, lndusLrlal faclllLles, and lnfrasLrucLure from a sLrucLural
englneerlng perspecLlve. LxLenslve lnformaLlon abouL Lhls earLhquake and lLs effecLs are avallable on
Lhe lnLerneL and from varlous medla sources. 1hls reporL documenLs places and sLrucLures LhaL Mr.
llerro personally observed durlng hls lnlLlal vlslL lncludlng orL"au"rlnce, ClLe Solell, eLlon vllle,
Carrefour, and oLher Lowns en rouLe Lo Leogane. Pe currenLly plans Lo reLurn Lo PalLl ln mld"lebruary.
<#%-&%+ <#//%'=
PalLl shares Lhe lsland of Plspanlola wlLh Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc, PalLl occuples roughly Lhe wesLern
Lhlrd of Lhe lsland. 1he norLhern shore of Plspanlola lles near Lhe boundary separaLlng Lhe Carlbbean
plaLe and Lhe norLh Amerlcan plaLe. 1hls plaLe boundary ls domlnaLed by lefL"laLeral sLrlke sllp moLlon
and compresslon, and accommodaLes abouL 20 mm/y sllp, wlLh Lhe Carlbbean plaLe movlng easLward
wlLh respecL Lo Lhe norLh Amerlcan plaLe. 1he lsland ls crossed by several sLrlke"sllp faulLs lncludlng
Lhose whlch make up Lhe Lnrlqulllo lanLaln Carden laulL Zone on Lhe souLh. 1hls faulL zone sLarLs
offshore Lo Lhe wesL of PalLl, blsecLs Lhe PalLlan penlnsula, and Lhen exLends easLward Lowards SanLo
uomlngo ln Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc (see llgure 1).
AlLhough Lhere have been no recenL slgnlflcanL earLhquakes ln PalLl, several earLhquakes were recorded
by lrench hlsLorlan Moreau de SalnL"Mery (1730-1819) durlng Lhe lrench colonlal perlod. Pe wroLe
LhaL ln orL"au"rlnce, "only one masonry bulldlng had noL collapsed" ln Lhe earLhquake of 1731 and
LhaL Lhe "whole clLy collapsed" ln Lhe earLhquake of 1770 (Wlklpedla). AL Lhe 18
Lh
Carlbbean Ceologlcal
Conference ln 2008, aul Mann eL al. sLaLed LhaL Lhe faulL had been locked for over 200 years and Lhe
perlod of lnacLlvlLy was llkely aL an end (Mann, 2008).

llgure 1: PlsLorlcal SelsmlclLy ln Plspanlola prlor Lo 1960. LasL ma[or earLhquake near orL"au"rlnce was ln 1770.
2

>",3'; ?,/%,' 6-/%&(/#-
1he uSCS has publlshed Shakemap lnsLrumenLal lnLenslLy esLlmaLes (llgure 2) and esLlmaLed peak
ground acceleraLlons (CA) (llgure 3). noLe LhaL Lhe blue doLs ln llgure 3 lndlcaLe lnsLrumenL locaLlons,
Lhe one lnsLrumenL locaLed ln PalLl ls along Lhe norLh coasL, far from Lhe eplcenLer. llgure 3 shows a
maxlmum CA of 0.30g. 8ased on Lhe observed damage, Mr. llerro esLlmaLes Lhe CA was more llkely
0.43g ln orL"au"rlnce and posslbly hlgher wesL of Lhe eplcenLer ln Lhe dlrecLlon of Lhe rupLure due Lo
forward dlrecLlvlLy. SLrucLures ln Leogane and oLher communlLles wesL of Carrefour suffered a hlgher
level of damage Lhan slmllar consLrucLlon ln orL"au"rlnce.


llgure 2: MMl lnLenslLy (uSCS Shakemap) llgure 3: eak ground acceleraLlon (uSCS)
>#,/#+7'%+($ @A-#"B(/%,'-
1he eplcenLral reglon lncludes low"lylng coasLal areas as well as coasLal mounLalns wlLh elevaLlons ln Lhe
range of 300"2000 meLers. Landslldes were a common slghL on hlllsldes surroundlng orL"au"rlnce.
Landslldes and rock falls blocked roads, broughL down uLlllLy poles, and resulLed ln damage or collapse
of many hlllslde sLrucLures. Maps of damaged areas ln orL"au"rlnce show pockeLs wlLh relaLlvely more
or less damage Lhan Lhe surroundlng areas, lndlcaLlng LhaL local soll condlLlons may have conLrlbuLed Lo
Lhe varlaLlon ln damage. uramaLlc evldence of llquefacLlon and laLeral spreadlng was evldenL aL Lhe porL
where several docks and porL sLrucLures were damaged or dlsappeared compleLely lnLo Lhe harbor.
3

llgures 4, 3, 6, 7 (clockwlse): Landsllde caused collapse of power pole, lallure of rubble and unrelnforced masonry
reLalnlng walls, Landsllde wesL of orL"au"rlnce, Landslldes conLrlbuLed Lo damage of shanLles on hlllslde near
eLlon vllle.

C,'-/"3+/%,' </(';(";- D," E3%$;%'=- %' 5(%/%
1he mosL sLrlklng aspecL of Lhe PalLlan earLhquake ls Lhe compleLe absence of selsmlc deLalllng ln
PalLlan consLrucLlon, from lnformal houslng Lo recenL mulLlsLory bulldlngs ln downLown orL"au"rlnce,
only a handful appeared Lo have been bullL wlLh any awareness of Lhe mosL baslc prlnclples of selsmlc
deslgn and consLrucLlon. lL appears Lhere ls no bulldlng code ln PalLl and Lhere are no llcenslng
requlremenLs for archlLecLs, englneers, or conLracLors. Selsmlc deslgn ls noL lncluded ln Lhe englneerlng
currlculum ln PalLl. Lnglneers who use any Lype of code have apparenLly used Lhe lrench code (8eLon
Arme aux LLaLs LlmlLes (8ALL)) whlch does noL lnclude any provlslons for selsmlc deslgn, or Lhey have
used Lhe gravlLy load provlslons from Lhe Amerlcan ConcreLe lnsLlLuLe code (ACl"318). Whlle Lhere are
some laws on Lhe books requlrlng bulldlng permlLs and lnspecLlons, lL appears Lhese are nelLher
followed nor enforced. (louche, 2010)
1he predomlnanL sLyle of consLrucLlon ls whaL ls known ln some parLs of Lhe developlng world as
conflned masonry, relaLlvely small relnforced concreLe frames wlLh unrelnforced concreLe masonry unlL
(CMu) lnflll. 1raglcally, Lhe PalLlan verslon has Lhe ouLward appearance of conflned masonry buL had
been bullL wlLhouL Lhe requlslLe selsmlc deLalllng Lo provlde Lhe conflnemenL, resulLlng ln Lhousands of
4

caLasLrophlc fallures. 1hus, Lhls unconflned masonry consLrucLlon had been used on mulLlsLory bulldlngs
up Lo 3"6 sLorles buL performed no beLLer Lhan unrelnforced masonry consLrucLlon.

llgure 8: 8eam"column [olnL deLalls A & 8 from 8egles 8ALL 91 (8eLon Arme aux LLaLs LlmlLes), 2006. ueLalls show
column bars spllced ln Lhe beam"column [olnL and beam bars spllced aL Lhe face of Lhe [olnL
llgures 9, 10, 11 (clockwlse): 1yplcal concreLe deLalls wlLh underslzed members, mlxed use of smooLh and
deformed relnforclng bars, underslzed rebar ofLen #3 and #4, shear relnforclng provlded by smooLh x" dlameLer
open hoops, no hoops ln [olnL. Columns ofLen slzed Lo maLch wldLh of 6" or 8" CMu block. oor quallLy concreLe,
lack of consolldaLlon, and corroslon of bars also seen wldely. 1he comblnaLlon of heavy consLrucLlon and Lhe
compleLe lack of ducLlllLy resulLed ln Lhousands of collapsed sLrucLures and many Lhousands of faLallLles.

3

nonducLlle concreLe, unrelnforced masonry, and unconflned masonry are all sLrucLural sysLems wlLh
llLLle laLeral capaclLy and are known Lo perform poorly ln earLhquakes. lrregular conflguraLlons wlLh
sofL, weak sLorles or capLlve columns are also known Lo perform poorly. oor quallLy maLerlals, poor
workmanshlp, poor malnLenance, and use of corroslve maLerlals such as beach sands ln Lhe concreLe
resulL ln sLrucLures LhaL perform poorly. ConsLrucLlon wlLhouL any englneerlng deslgn or overslghL,
wlLhouL any sLandards, much less selsmlc sLandards, and wlLhouL any Lype of lnspecLlon cannoL be
expecLed Lo fare well durlng a ma[or earLhquake.
*#-.,'-# ,D E3%$;%'= </"3+/3"#-
As noLed above, Lhe bulldlng sLock ln PalLl ls largely brlLLle and weak and was noL deslgned Lo reslsL
earLhquakes. 1he dlfference beLween Lhose LhaL collapsed and Lhose sLlll sLandlng may be a very small
margln of reserve sLrengLh, slnce vlrLually none of Lhese sLrucLures were deslgned for selsmlc forces.
AlLhough Lhere are many bulldlngs sLlll sLandlng, bulldlngs of all slzes, maLerlals, and vlnLages dld poorly.
A small sample of Lhese are shown below (see llgures 12"19):
llgure 12: resldenLlal alace. L"shaped plan,
compleLed 1920, parLlal collapse. Many 1
sL
sLory
wlndows unbroken buL cupola and much of 2
nd
sLory
collapsed.
ll
co
da
w
gure 13: orL"au"rlnce CaLhedral. 8ullL 1884"1914,
llapse of roof and upper walls. Archalc relnforclng
ngllng from above, llghL sLeel roof framlng vlslble ln
reckage.
llgure 14: Modern 4"sLory colonlal"sLyle bulldlng (esL. 3
yrs old), parLlal collapse of boLLom 2 floors.
llgure 13: 3"sLory bulldlng, boLLom Lwo sLorles
collapsed. Close"up of 1
sL
"2
nd
sLory [olnLs ln llg. 11.
6

llgure 16: 3"sLory sLrucLure, never compleLed,
collapsed aL 1
sL
floor and leanlng on ad[acenL sLrucLure.
lew Lransverse walls, heavy slabs, underslzed and weak
columns, and compleLe lack of ducLlle deLalllng all
conLrlbuLed Lo collapse.
llgure 17: Close"up from 3"sLory collapse aL lefL. Column
dlmenslons 6"x12". noLe column bars spllced lnslde Lhe
beam"column [olnL.
llgure 18: 2"sLory school ln Leogane, compleLe collapse
wlLh many faLallLles.
llgure 19: 3"sLory unlverslLy bulldlng ln Leogane, sLlll
under consLrucLlon wlLh weak columns and llLLle or no
masonry lnflll. CompleLe collapse.
*#-.,'-# ,D :'D"(-/"3+/3"#
1he lnfrasLrucLure of PalLl wlll Lake many years Lo recover from Lhls devasLaLlng earLhquake. 1he maln
porL ln orL"au"rlnce had Lwo prlmary docks, one of Lhese collapsed compleLely and Lhe oLher suffered
a parLlal collapse (see llgures 20"22). 1he ad[acenL fuel porL losL Lhe seaward end of Lhe dock and Lhe
plles supporLlng Lhe remalnlng secLlon were all mlsallgned (llgures 23"27). 1he glazlng all fell from Lhe
conLrol Lower aL Lhe lnLernaLlonal alrporL and masonry lnflll walls ln Lhe Lermlnal were cracked, closlng
Lhe alrporL Lemporarlly. 1he Leam vlslLed Lwo elecLrlc power planLs, nelLher one was ln operaLlon. 1he
flrsL was ouL prlmarlly due Lo fallures ln Lhe dlsLrlbuLlon sysLem ouLslde Lhe planL, Lhe second was down
due Lo Lhe fallure of a flre waLer Lank. 1he Lank farm ad[acenL Lo Lhe fuel porL suffered exLenslve
damage. 8oads and brldges LhroughouL Lhe area suffered damage.
7

llgure 20: orL"au"rlnce maln commerclal porL prlor Lo
earLhquake. (Coogle LarLh lmages used for llgures 20,
21, 24, and 23).
llgure 21: noLe Lravellng crane aL Lop of phoLo now
lmmersed ln waLer, no slgn of dock. Palf of dock aL
boLLom of phoLo also gone. noLe whlLe paLches
onshore lndlcaLlng resldue from sand bolls.
llgure 22: Commerclal porL, dock collapsed and crane
lmmersed underwaLer. Slgns of llquefacLlon, sand bolls,
and laLeral spreadlng LhroughouL porL area.
llgure 23: Mark on Llre lndlcaLes helghL of sand flow aL
commerclal porL.
llgure 24: luel porL prlor Lo earLhquake. llgure 23: luel porL, dock collapsed (noLe green Lruck
vlslble hanglng off end of remalnlng secLlon).
8

llgure 26: luel porL, end of remalnlng secLlon of dock. llgure 27: recarlous supporL for remalnlng secLlon of
dock aL fuel porL, all plles mlsallgned.
llgure 28: All glazlng fell from conLrol Lower, orL"au"
rlnce lnLernaLlonal AlrporL. lnflll walls ln Lermlnal
cracked, mosLly nonsLrucLural damage.
llgure 29: 8rldge along maln road lnLo orL"au"rlnce
from Lhe easL. uamage aL glrder seaLs, all locaLlons.
llgure 30: LlecLrlc power planL, one of slx unanchored
Lransformers [umped Lhe ralls. no damage Lo ceramlc
componenLs.
llgure 31: 1ank farm aL fuel porL. Wldespread Lank
damage, Lank shown had elephanL fooL" and elephanL
knee."
9

*#-.,'-# ,D :';3-/"%($ F(+%$%/%#-
Mr. llerro vlslLed a sLeel facLory ln orL"au"rlnce and a cemenL planL locaLed near Aubry Lo Lhe norLh of
orL"au"rlnce. 1he cemenL planL was sLlll operaLlng Lhe day of Lhe vlslL. 1hls planL had a dedlcaLed
pler, many conveyors, sllos, Lanks, eLc. Whlle Lhe Leam observed damage Lo many sLrucLures aL Lhe
planL, Lhe planL manager lndlcaLed LhaL mosL of Lhe observed damage affecLed sLrucLures or equlpmenL
LhaL was noL acLlvely ln use. 1he sLeel planL lmporLs large rolls of uomlnlcan sLeel wlre and cuLs and
sLralghLens Lhe bars for sale as deformed #3 bars, deformed #4 bars, and smooLh x" dlameLer bar used
for Lransverse Lles. 1he roof of Lhe sLeel planL collapsed, Lhe faclllLy was noL ln operaLlon.
6&#"=#'+) *#-.,'-#
Cne of Lhe mosL Lraglc aspecLs of Lhls earLhquake was Lhe compleLe absence of emergency responders
ln Lhe lnlLlal hours and days followlng Lhe earLhquake. PalLlan governmenL offlclals were overwhelmed
by famlly Lragedles of Lhelr own, governmenL mlnlsLrles were ln rulns, and communlcaLlons were
severed. Cn !anuary 14, Mr. llerro dld noL see any search and rescue Leams, any pollce presence, any
cauLlon Lape, any clean"up crews, any heavy equlpmenL, any food or ald sLaLlons, any asslsLance of any
klnd. Whlle Lhls slLuaLlon changed ln Lhe followlng days, as lnLernaLlonal ald poured ln, Lhe lack of
lmmedlaLe asslsLance may have cosL many Lhelr llves.
C,'+$3-%,'- ('; *#+,&&#';(/%,'-
lL would be easy for Lhose ln Lhe developed world Lo look aL Lhls Lragedy and Lhlnk LhaL Lhls cannoL
happen here. unforLunaLely for all of us, Lhere are many locaLlons ln Lhe world LhaL bulld Loday wlLhouL
approprlaLe selsmlc deLalllng, Lhere are many vlnLage sLrucLures LhroughouL boLh Lhe developed and
developlng world wlLhouL approprlaLe selsmlc deLalllng, Lhere are many locaLlons where Lhe currenL
generaLlon has no memory of selsmlc acLlvlLy and earLhquake preparedness ls noL on Lhe llsL of
prlorlLles. As Lhe world populaLlon grows and urban areas become more densely populaLed, Lhe
worldwlde earLhquake hazard ls lncreaslng raLher Lhan decreaslng.
neverLheless, successful selsmlc reslsLanL schools, hosplLals, commerclal sLrucLures, and resldences can
be bullL uLlllzlng Lhe same concreLe, sLeel, and concreLe block used ln PalLl. CLher counLrles such as
eru and 1urkey share many of Lhe problems seen ln PalLl, and use conflned masonry for Lhe ma[orlLy of
Lhelr bulldlng sLrucLures. Slnce 1999, schools ln eru have been bullL followlng a sLandard deslgn LhaL
has been shown Lo reslsL ground moLlon on Lhe order of 0.30g wlLhouL any damage. 1he governmenL of
eru also sponsored Lhe producLlon and dlssemlnaLlon of a handbook for properLy owners and laborers
showlng carLoon"sLyle how Lo bulld a conflned masonry home, lncludlng sLep by sLep lnsLrucLlons for
dlgglng fooLlngs, mlxlng concreLe, arranglng Lhe bars, eLc. (8londeL). Several pages from Lhe Spanlsh
language verslon of Lhls bookleL are shown ln llgure 32.
1he people of PalLl need Lo rebulld qulckly, on !anuary 19
Lh
Mr. llerro saw masons reconsLrucLlng
collapsed walls uslng Lhe exacL Lechnology LhaL caused Lhem Lo fall. 1he lnLernaLlonal ald and
englneerlng communlLles need Lo help educaLe PalLlans regardlng Lhe earLhquake hazards and provlde
baslc, easy Lo undersLand guldance on how Lo rebulld Lhelr socleLy ln a more earLhquake reslllenL
fashlon. 1hls should noL lnvolve relnvenLlng Lhe wheel, mosL of PalLl's problems have prevlously been
10


llgure 32: eruvlan bookleL on conflned masonry consLrucLlon, sample pages. (8londeL)

addressed elsewhere. Some ldeas mlghL lnclude:
! rovlde lmmedlaLe asslsLance Lo Lhe governmenL of PalLl Lo develop and adopL a provlslonal
bulldlng code LhaL lncludes selsmlc provlslons. CounLrles such as Lhe uomlnlcan 8epubllc or eru
have codes LhaL mlghL be readlly adapLed for PalLl.
! rovlde lmmedlaLe asslsLance Lo exlsLlng PalLlan archlLecLure, englneerlng, and consLrucLlon
professlonals Lo educaLe Lhem on Lhe prlnclples of selsmlc deslgn and consLrucLlon, such
educaLlonal semlnars should be organlzed as soon as posslble, slnce reconsLrucLlon ls already under
way.
! 1ranslaLe Lhe eruvlan bookleL on conflned masonry consLrucLlon lnLo kreyol or lrench and make lL
avallable for free, provlde Lralnlng and demonsLraLlons ln publlc parks, schools, or locaLlons LhaL sell
bulldlng supplles, Lo show proper consLrucLlon Lechnlques.
! use lnLernaLlonal ald money Lo sponsor Lhe consLrucLlon of one greaL school ln each affecLed Lown
followlng Lhe plans developed ln eru, Lhese plans are readlly avallable and show a proven
Lechnology LhaL uLlllzes conflned masonry.
! uevlse a mechanlsm Lo Lle ald money for reconsLrucLlon Lo Lhe use of selsmlc deLalllng and selsmlc
reslsLanL consLrucLlon.
! CreaLe an avenue for englneers and lnspecLors from developed counLrles Lo help wlLh deslgn, plan
revlew, and consLrucLlon lnspecLlon durlng Lhe lnlLlal reconsLrucLlon perlod. We have recelved a
number of requesLs from Amerlcan professlonals asklng how Lhey can volunLeer.
! rovlde scholarshlps Lo exlsLlng PalLlan sLudenLs sLudylng archlLecLure and englneerlng Lo go abroad
Lo flnlsh Lhelr sLudles, slnce many PalLlan unlverslLles are noL currenLly able Lo funcLlon and do noL
have Lhe approprlaLe currlculum ln selsmlc deslgn. 1hls could lnvolve boLh shorL" and long Lerm"
scholarshlp arrangemenLs.
ln closlng, here are phoLos of school consLrucLlon ln eru (llgures 33"34). 1he school shown aL lefL
(llgure 33) and Lhe school ln Lhe background ln llgure 34 boLh experlenced ground moLlon of 0.3g
durlng Lhe 2007 lsco, eru LarLhquake. 1hls was a magnlLude 7.9 evenL, 80,000 sLrucLures collapsed ln
lsco, buL Lhese schools were undamaged. 1he wlng ln Lhe foreground (llgure 34) was under
11

consLrucLlon durlng !uly 2008. AL LhaL Llme, we meL a woman who ldenLlfled herself as Lhe Lnglneer of
8ecord and had deslgned Lhe school, she was ln Lhe fleld personally Lylng all Lhe bars for Lhe column
cages because she sald no one else could be LrusLed wlLh such an lmporLanL Lask. May englneers
everywhere Lake a lesson from her.
llgure 33: School ln lsco, eru survlved 7.9M 2007
lsco earLhquake wlLhouL damage (CA 0.3g). eruvlan
governmenL developed sLandard plans for school
consLrucLlon ln 1999.
llgure 34: School under consLrucLlon, lsco, eru !uly
2008. 8ulldlng has 1m 1"shaped longlLudlnal wall aL
locaLlon of each Lransverse wall, resL of Lransverse wall
ls solld unrelnforced concreLe block masonry lnflll.
*#D#"#'+#-
1. uSCS, PalLl earLhquake sLaLlsLlcs and maps.
hLLp://earLhquake.usgs.gov/earLhquakes/eqlnLhenews/2010/us2010r[a6/
2. louche, lerre. hd sLudenL aL Sun? 8uffalo. ersonal communlcaLlon 23 !anuary 2010.
3. 8egles 8ALL 91 (8eLon Arme aux LLaLs LlmlLes), 2006 edlLlon.
4. Wlklpedla arLlcle on 2010 PalLl LarLhquake as of !an. 28, 2010.
hLLp://en.wlklpedla.org/wlkl/2010_PalLl_earLhquake
3. 8londeL, Marclal, edlLor. ConsLruccln y ManLenlmlenLo de vlvlendas de Albanllerla, Second edlLlon
2003. Llma, eru.
6. Mann, aul eL al, Lnrlquello"lanLaln Carden sLrlke"sllp faulL zone: A ma[or selsmlc hazard affecLlng
uomlnlcan 8epubllc, PalLl, and !amalca," 18
Lh
Carlbbean Ceologlcal Conference, SanLo uomlngo,
uomlnlcan 8epubllc, 2008.
G+9',H$#;=#&#'/-
We would llke Lo acknowledge Lhe lnvaluable asslsLance of lng. vlcLor Suarez of lulSuLn ln SanLlago u8
for maklng all of Lhe arrangemenLs for Lravel, lodglng, meals, kreyol LranslaLlon, and securlLy for Lhe Lrlp
lnLo PalLl. ln addlLlon Lo lng. Suarez, several oLher uomlnlcan englneers accompanled Mr. llerro
lncludlng lng. Luls ena, lng. PecLor C'8ellly, and lng.lellpe 8oman. 1hanks also Lo LsLrella lngenlerla
lncludlng lng. Ale[andro Adames, lng. lvarez, and, Lo allLo for securlLy, Lo drlvers uanlel and 8onald,
and Lo Cecella Lhe cook. 1he reconnalssance was supporLed [olnLly by 8l Lnglneers, lnc., lulSuLn, and
LL8. unless oLherwlse lndlcaLed, all phoLos were Laken by Lduardo llerro.
12