Impact of Earthquake Hazard on Various Structures-A Case Study in Myanmar.

Abstract

Natural disasters cannot be prevented, but it may be possible to reduce their impact on infrastructure by following some guidelines. This study evaluated earthquake-induced damage (from the March 28, 2025 event in Myanmar) to infrastructure (i.e., reinforced concrete [RC], masonry, and temples) through field investigations and fragility analysis. The overturning and beam-column joint failures with spectral collapse were predicted from the field data, which are presented in terms of several damage states (i.e., slight, moderate, heavy, and very heavy) using incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). Nonlinear time history analysis is used to perform IDA by varying the peak ground acceleration (PGA) in the range of 0-1.5 g. Some issues may influence these failures, such as crack depth, inadequate shear reinforcement at the joint, and inadequate seismic detailing. These recommendations are based on the field inspection. The idealized guidelines are provided to overcome these failures; these include reducing crack depth and placing adequate vertical and horizontal shear reinforcements at joints. This study may be enhanced in the future by including more damage categories and risk analysis.