ATC-125

ATC-125 PROJECT

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project Title: Recovery Advisories for the South Napa Earthquake

Project Status: Report Published

Client: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

PROJECT SUMMARY

Soon after some natural disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) develops Recovery Advisories—short (5 to 10 page) documents providing guidance on how to repair or mitigate specific issues identified in a particular disaster. The FEMA Building Science Branch often works with the Joint Field Office and uses the findings from Mitigation Assessment Team reports to inform the development of FEMA Recovery Advisories.

After the August 24, 2014, magnitude 6.0 South Napa earthquake, FEMA contracted the Applied Technology Council (ATC) to develop two FEMA Recovery Advisories related to: (1) masonry fireplace chimneys, and (2) cripple walls in residential structures. Although these Recovery Advisories were developed following the 2014 South Napa earthquake, the technical content is not specific to this earthquake: the Recovery Advisories may be used to aid the recovery process after future earthquakes and for pre-earthquake hazard mitigation.

These two FEMA South Napa Earthquake Recovery Advisories are also included in the appendices of FEMA P-1024, Performance of Buildings and Nonstructural Components in the 2014 South Napa Earthquake. FEMA P-1024 provides an assessment of the performance of a select number of buildings impacted by the earthquake and corresponding recommendations to further improve mitigation.

Repair of Earthquake-Damaged Masonry Fireplace Chimneys

This FEMA Recovery Advisory recommends best practices for the reconstruction of earthquake-damaged masonry chimneys in one- or two-family dwellings to minimize risk of damage in future earthquakes. The best practices detailed in this advisory are also recommended for retrofit of masonry chimneys. The information included in the Recovery Advisory is intended to be used by homeowners to compare and contrast the various options for reconstruction and retrofit, as well as by contractors to understand details and applicable building code requirements associated with the implementation of these options. Readers should note that this Recovery Advisory does not fully detail construction requirements; a homeowner or contractor will still need to obtain a building permit to perform the work described in this advisory.

Earthquake Strengthening of Cripple Walls in Wood-Frame Dwellings

The South Napa earthquake damaged many cripple walls in residential structures, and many of the damaged cripple walls were taller than four feet. This FEMA Recovery Advisory addresses the earthquake strengthening of cripple walls and foundation anchorage in one- or two- family residential structures, supported by elevated concrete foundation systems and cripple walls not taller than approximately seven feet. In its first part, the Recovery Advisory describes the issue of earthquake strengthening of cripple walls and foundation anchorage for a typical homeowner. The second part is an accompanying Plan Set, which provides a pre-engineered retrofit solution and step-by-step instructions for use by knowledgeable contractors or skilled homeowners in customizing the work for the conditions in a specific dwelling. The contractor or homeowner must still obtain a building permit to perform the work described in this advisory.

Welcome to the ATC Team!

Michael Valley

As a former Principal at Magnusson Klemencic Associates in Seattle, Mike Valley comes to ATC with more than 30 years of structural engineering experience in new design, evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings, applied research, and codes and standards development. Mike’s design experience includes the landmark Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and his research and development experience includes the FEMA 356 Prestandard and Commentary for the Seismic Rehabilitation of Buildings, FEMA P-2012 Assessing Seismic Performance of Buildings with Configuration Irregularities (ATC-123 Project), and NIST GCR 10-917-9 Applicability of Nonlinear Multiple-Degree-of-Freedom Modeling for Design (ATC-76-6 Project).

Mike also has extensive experience as an ATC consultant serving as a reviewer, a technical contributor, and Project Director on multiple ATC projects. We look forward to how Mike’s unique experiences as a successful team member will contribute to ATC projects in the future.

Michael Mahoney

Retired from federal service as a Senior Geophysicist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mike Mahoney comes to ATC with more than 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation program management and policy development, post-disaster response and recovery, and problem-focused research and development in support of FEMA’s efforts under the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). He has led FEMA’s earthquake-related work with the International Code Council and has been involved with the development of national model codes and standards since 1984.

In his career at FEMA, Mike has led the development of countless major FEMA publications, including: FEMA 350 Recommended Seismic Design Criteria for New Steel Moment-Frame Buildings and its series of companion reports (ATC-41 Project series), FEMA P-58 Seismic Performance Assessment of Buildings, Methodology and Implementation (ATC-58 Project series), FEMA P-695 Quantification of Building Seismic Performance Factors (ATC-63 Project), FEMA P-2018 Seismic Evaluation of Older Concrete Buildings for Collapse Potential (ATC-78 Project), and FEMA P-2090/NIST SP-1254 Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time (ATC-137 Project). With Mike’s extensive knowledge of federal government programs, and past collaboration with state and local agencies, hazard mitigation partners, and code development organizations, we look forward to how his unique experiences will help serve ATC’s client needs and objectives in the future.