ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF SEISMIC DAMAGE IN CHINA YIBIN, JAPAN YAMAGATA AND U.S. CALIFORNIA RIDGECREST EARTHQUAKES

The seismic damages of the M6.0 China Yibin earthquake, M6.7 Japan Yamagata earthquake and M7.1 U.S. California Ridgecrest earthquake are analyzed and compared in this study, which includes the comparison of the peak ground accelerations (PGAs) and response spectra based on the typical records of strong ground motions, the comparison of the seismic damage of typical individual structures and target regions, and the comparison of the actual seismic damage. The results show that the Yibin earthquake has the most destructive capability for masonry structures with short natural vibration periods, whereas the California earthquake has the most destructive capability for frame structures with long natural vibration periods. The regional seismic damages of the California earthquake and Yamagata earthquake are less than those of the Yibin earthquake. The above results indicate that the relationships among earthquake magnitudes, PGAs and damage states of buildings are complicated. Therefore, it is not appropriate to evaluate seismic damage only by the earthquake magnitudes or PGAs. City-scale nonlinear time-history analysis should be developed with the construction of the national seismic network.