Guayaquil Ecuador: warnings of vulnerablity to intense earthquakes in 1998 study

entornointeligente.com REPORTED In 1998 a study by the Catholic University of Guayaquil determined that buildings in the city center were vulnerable to earthquakes of great intensity.

The project called Radius (Risk Assessment Tools for Urban Areas against Seismic Disasters) noted that the area of ​​greatest risk is the center of the city.
18 years later, an earthquake measuring 7.8 degrees on the Richter scale left 243 buildings and homes with partial damage to their structures.

Damaged facades, cracks in the walls and broken glass were in several buildings in the center and south of Guayaquil, on Saturday April 16, according to the latest report of the Corporation of Public Safety Guayaquil (CSCG). An example is the Phoenix building where worked before the Attorney Guayas Transit in Aguirre and Pedro Carbo, which was sunken and raised floors.

The vulnerability of this building had already been warned in 1998 by the Radius project. This determined that it was vulnerable to seismic hazards by the use of dangerous structural elements and flown very long. Other factors of vulnerability that the project encountered in buildings are dilapidated and height of buildings, weak columns, complex architecture, among others.

Enrique Pita, president of the Chamber of Construction of Guayaquil, there levity owners who build often adding floors to works without technical support.
According to Radius, the area of ​​greatest risk is the center. Jaime Argudo, a specialist who participated in the project, estimated in the central area may be more than one thousand buildings.

Most buildings, he says, would have more than 70 years. “The structure of the urban fabric has not changed in this significant area, but the development to the north” Another problem is that the center of the city is built on clay soil unlike the north it is rocky.

Earthquakes in Ecuador and Japan, unrelated Natural disasters caused 50,000 deaths per year from 1900 ECUADOR: Guayaquil had a warning of vulnerability to earthquakes. Read Article

SAFETY, HEALTH, SECURITY IN ECUADOR – READ THIS BOOK