The joint FEMA P-2090/ NIST SP-1254 Special Report, Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time, is available for immediate download. This report was requested by Congress as part of the most recent National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) reauthorization, and is the work of a Committee of Experts including more than 30 individuals from federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private sector entities, disaster management professional associations, engineering professional associations, and professional construction and homebuilding industry associations.
The report provides options in the form of recommendations, tasks, and alternatives for improving the built environment to increase resilience and reduce the impacts of future natural hazard events. It includes one overarching recommendation and six additional supporting recommendations. Across all recommendations, there are 17 tasks identifying necessary actions and nine possible alternative actions needed for implementation. Finally, the report includes an assessment of the recommendations and describes a path forward for implementation.
ATC is committed to building a workforce that is as diverse as the communities we serve. Are you interested in consulting? Join us!
As structural engineers, we frame our contributions to society through our professionalism and ethics in the duties we perform. In our practice, we serve society and are active participants in the fabric of the communities in which we live. As structural engineers, we cannot limit ourselves to solving only problems of science and engineering. Ignoring the social, economic, and political contexts surrounding our engineering work is a path to irrelevancy. Our active participation includes a moral obligation to right the social and ethical wrongs we observe.
Therefore, as part of our active strategic planning process, we will critically examine the ethical values, equity, and diversity present in our internal processes and practices related to our staff, clients, and consultants. Please read our full statement here.
September 19, 2017 Puebla-Morelos, Mexico Earthquake: Seismological and Structural Observations by the ATC Reconnaissance Team
The ATC-141 report documents the findings of the field team, including observation of earthquake effects for 70 buildings, microtremors recorded using monitoring instruments at 7 buildings, and a compilation of processed ground motion recordings from UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and CIRES (Center of Instrumentation and Seismic Records). This report also serves as a reference to two papers approved for publication in Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Spectra Journal.
CEA-EDA-01, Earthquake Damage Assessment and Repair Guidelines for Residential Wood-Frame Buildings, Volume 1 – General Guidelines
This two-volume series describes the process of identifying, evaluating, and repairing common earthquake damage in typical residential wood-frame houses and is intended to increase the efficiency, consistency, and reliability of the earthquake damage assessment and repair process. Volume 1 (CEA-EDA-01) is intended to be used by insurance claim representatives, building contractors, homeowners, and others familiar with construction and repair.
CEA-EDA-02, Earthquake Damage Assessment and Repair Guidelines for Residential Wood-Frame Buildings, Volume 2 – Engineering Guidelines
Volume 2 (CEA-EDA-02) is intended to be used by structural and geotechnical engineers, and others with relevant technical experience. The Guidelines help users create a conceptual scope of repair for a wood-frame house damaged by an earthquake.
Proceedings: FEMA-Sponsored Summit on Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Utah
The Applied Technology Council is pleased to announce the availability for free of ATC-137-2, Proceedings: FEMA-Sponsored Summit on Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Utah presents the summit agenda, include slides from the plenary presentations, and summarize the themes expressed during the breakout discussions.
FEMA P-530, Earthquake Safety at Home
Half of all Americans live in areas subject to earthquake risk, and most Americans will travel to seismically active regions in their lifetime. FEMA P-530, Earthquake Safety at Home, shows readers why earthquakes matter where they live, and how they can Prepare, Protect, Survive, Respond, Recover, and Repair in response to an earthquake.