Sept 30, 2009 Western Sumatra Earthquake: Reconnaissance Briefing on Dec 2, 2009 at Stanford
Observations and Lessons on Earthquake and Tsunami Risk Mitigation
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
4:30 PM
Stanford University Campus
Building 320 – Room 105
Gregory Deierlein, J.A. Blume Professor of Engineering, Stanford University
Veronica Cedillos, Geohazards International
Scott Henderson, Engineers for Sustainable World, Stanford University
The M7.6 earthquake of 30 September 2009 in Western Sumatra, Indonesia caused significant damage and collapse to thousands of buildings and the deaths of 1,195people in Padang City and the surrounding area. This seminar will report on the findings of a reconnaissance team who visited Padang shortly after the earthquake. Included will be (a) a summary of the earthquake mechanism and resulting ground motions, (b) examination of the performance of buildings, bridges and lifeline systems and their implications on design/construction standards and practices, (c) observations on emergency response and tsunami evacuation, and (d) lessons on mitigating future threats from earthquakes and tsunamis.
With a population of 900,000 people living in a low-lying coastal plane, Padang continues to face a serious risk from earthquakes and tsunamis that are predicted to occur on the Sunda trench fault. Located just offshore from Padang, the Sunda trench is the same fault system on which a M9.2 earthquake in 2004 triggered the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that killed over 230,000 people. The recent September 30 earthquake is a reminder of this threat and offers important lessons for developing improved plans and infrastructure for tsunami evacuation and refuge in Padang.
Seminar is sponsored by the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center in cooperation with the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center. http://www.eqclearinghouse.org/20090930-padang/
Seminar is free and open to the public
posted November 13, 2009