Copyright Information: All images are in the public domain and available for free. If you use this image, credit NOAA/NGDC, E.V. Leyendecker, U.S. Geological Survey. |
Buckled box column on the south side of center 23-story tower, one of five towers at the Pino Suarez Complex damaged in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The columns were hollow box sections made of four plates with exterior welds along the edges. Internal stiffener plates were spaced at regular intervals and welded to three sides along the interior length and along all four sides at the column ends. The structure was designed as a moment-resisting frame, and not much inelastic deformation developed in the beams. Local plate buckling-amplified by weld tears at the plate joints-occurred in the most highly stressed columns along the south face near the top of the common mezzanine. Buckling of columns, and deformations caused by other actions, produced tilt of the structure towards the south. Image Credit: E.V. Leyendecker. U.S. Geological Survey September 19, 1985 Mexico City Mexico earthquake The magnitude 8.1 earthquake occurred off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The damage was concentrated in a 25 square km area of Mexico City, 350 km from the epicenter. The underlying geology and geologic history of Mexico City contributed to this unusual concentration of damage at a distance from the epicenter. Of a population of 18 million, an estimated 10,000 people were killed, and 50,000 were injured. Event Data:
|
|
