San Francisco est une de mes destinations préférées aux États-Unis. Maintes fois touchée par des secousses importantes, la ville a développé des exigences sévères pour la construction d'édifices publics comme les écoles ou les hôpitaux. Il en va cependant autrement pour les autres édifices et le New York Times s'interroge ici sur la sécurité des grattes-ciel.
"Right now the code says a structure must be engineered to have a 90 percent chance of avoiding total collapse. But many experts believe that is not enough.
“Ten percent of buildings will collapse,” said Lucy Jones, the former leader of natural hazards research at the United States Geological Survey who is leading a campaign to make building codes in California stronger. “I don’t understand why that’s acceptable.”
The code also does not specify that a building be fit for occupancy after an earthquake. Many buildings might not collapse completely, but they could be damaged beyond repair. The interior walls, the plumbing, elevators — all could be wrecked or damaged.
“When I tell people what the current building code gives them most people are shocked,” Dr. Jones said. “Enough buildings will be so badly damaged that people are going to find it too hard to live in L.A. or San Francisco.”
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