On Sat, 14 Sep 1996, Jeanne Hedge wrote:

<ahem>

Now that I have your attention.....

Does anybody know if it's been determined why some buildings built to the
"earthquake proof" Japanese building codes collapsed during the Kobe quake?

	This was due to what's often called 'earthflow' by some experts,
Jeanne.. in many cases, the ground under and around a building will ofter
assume the behavior of a fluid, resulting in movement _seperate_ from the
earthquake itself. Not unlike the mudflows sometimes experienced after
heary rainfalls in mountain areas. The building, for a few moments, is
sitting in what amounts to a large puddle of 'quicksand' that offers no
structural support. This causes further damage. As this wasn't recognized
as something that happened during an earthquake until quite recently, many
codes failed to address the problem. By itself, it can be dealt with, but
together with an eathquake, it causes many 'quake-proof' buildings to fail
due to the additional stress. 

	I don't have much more detail than that, as the military only
covered it lightly in my courses about natuaral disasters. But I hope this
bit helped.

Thank you for your support :)

	No problem.. happy to help. BTW.. have you finished going over
that BGC 'fic I sent to you?

Jeanne Hedge
http://www.accsyst.com/jhedge/main.htm

	Ed Becerra

	"Dreamers may die, but the dream is eternal..."