Despite the progress that has been made in disaster-related science and technology and the significant financial investments made at the federal, state, and local levels in risk mitigation, The National Academies continue to view community resilience as a national imperative. Events such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Christchurch earthquake and Joplin tornado in 2011, and Superstorm Sandy in 2012 highlighted the need to better understand community resilience to mitigate the risks associated with severe natural hazards. …
Author Archives : John W. van de Lindt, Ph. D., F. ASCE
John W. van de Lindt is Harold H. Short Endowed Chair and Co-Director, Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO.
As early as 1970, the structural engineering and building safety community recognized that a large number of two-, three- and four-story woodframe buildings, designed with the first floor used either for parking or commercial space, were built with readily identifiable structural deficiencies, referred to as a “soft story”. Often these buildings also have a strength deficiency when compared to the stories above, in which case they are also classified as “weak”. …