Abstract:
This report presents the observations and findings following the 2017 Puebla earthquake that occurred in Mexico on September 19th, 2017. The reconnaissance mission was a collaboration between the New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE), the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) Azcapotzalco, the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Disaster Reconnaissance team, and the Colegio de Ingenieros Civiles de Mexico (CICM). During the earthquake, 77 buildings suffered partial or total collapse and more than 8,000 buildings experienced damage ranging from slight damage to significant structural damage necessitating demolition. As observed in previous earthquakes, the unique soil conditions of Mexico City resulted in extensive damage to the city’s infrastructure, primarily due to local site effects. The earthquake caused relatively more damage to buildings built on transition and soft soil zones (i.e. between hard and deep soft soils) than those on hard soils.
The NZSEE and UAM team focussed on areas with widespread and extensive damage. They also assessed the performance of repaired and retrofitted buildings after the 1985 Michoacán earthquake. It was found that the lessons learnt from the 1985 Michoacán earthquake led to some risk mitigation measures which benefited several buildings in the 2017 earthquake. Retrofitted buildings were found to have performed very well with little or no damage when compared to other buildings.
