NEHRP Clearinghouse

Title
El-Asnam, Algeria Earthquake of October 10, 1980: A Reconnaissance and Engineering Report.
File
PB85110740.pdf
Author(s)
Bertero, V.; Shah, H.
Source
National Science Foundation, Washington, DC., January 1983, 250 p.
Identifying Number(s)
CETS-CND-022
Abstract
On October 10, 1980 a destructive earthquake occurred near El-Asnam, Algeria (formerly known as Orleansville--this city had also had a destructive earthquake September 9, 1954). This report presents the findings of a 5-member reconnaissance team which visited the stricken area October 15-21, a 5-member investigating team which made studies there from October 22 to October 28 and three other investigators who made studies in November and December--all with the assistance of the Organisine de Controle Technique de la Construction (CTS) d'Algerie. Five chapters discuss geography, seismology and geology, earthquake effects, and socio-economic aspects of the event. The final chapter describes the lessons learned (and relearned) from investigation of this earthquake and presents conclusions. Recommendations are formulated to mitigate destruction from future earthquakes.
Keywords
Structures; Earthquake resistant structures; Transportation; Utilities; Seismic waves; Investigations; Earth movements; Performance evaluation; Design standards; Visual reconnaissance; Soil dynamics; Recommendations; Algeria; Socio-economic factors; Earthquakes; Geological faults