Earthquake Damage Assessment and Repair Protocols

The Northridge earthquake revealed a serious lack of knowledge and understanding of earthquake damage assessment and repair for ordinary structures. No generally accepted definition of damage, guidelines for engineering investigation of damaged structures, procedures for quantifying damage, or standards for repair exist. As a result, there were gross variations in the evaluation and repair of similarly damaged structures resulting in great inequity amongst the affected population. Consensus protocols (or guidelines and standards) can bring order and consistency to the process by providing much needed guidance to engineers retained to evaluate and repair earthquake damage. This paper summarized the authors' experience with a limited scope protocol following the Northridge earthquake, and presents recommendations for the structure of more general, consensus-based, earthquake damage assessment and repair protocols.