Implementing a Practice-Focused Approach to Geotechnical Post-Earthquake Damage Assessment

Over 25 years have passed since the 1994 Northridge earthquake required a major mobilization of practicing civil/geotechnical engineers for postearthquake damage assessments in the United States. Practitioners were inundated with requests to perform investigations and provide damage repair recommendations, with the resulting assessments often utilizing conflicting and disparate methodologies. In response, the Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering in 2005 developed the “Engineering Guidelines for the Assessment and Repair of Earthquake Damage in Residential Woodframe Buildings” to provide a consistent framework for conducting geotechnical postearthquake damage assessments in practice. In 2020, the California Earthquake Authority and Applied Technology Council updated these guidelines and issued the “Earthquake Damage Assessment and Repair Guidelines for Residential Wood-Frame Buildings.” This paper presents the framework for practice-focused geotechnical postearthquake damage assessments and demonstrates the implementation through a case history. The motivation, scope, and goals of these assessments are highlighted in the context of community rebuild needs.