Green does not mean go for quake-hit buildings
Post-quake green labels on buildings do not mean “all-clear”, say earthquake engineers.
Post-quake green labels on buildings do not mean “all-clear”, say earthquake engineers.
New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering executive officer Win Clark said the colour tagging was intended only as a safety guide during the emergency period, and is to be followed by detailed engineering assessment.
The labels are used to show limitations on access to buildings following major earthquakes. After inspection teams have completed a safety evaluation, the structure is marked with a coloured sticker. Red indicates the building must not be entered, yellow restricted entry and green that it can be entered.
But the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering said that green labelling should not be taken to mean that the building reaches required earthquake resistance standards.
Mr Clark said many members of the public, including building owners, mistakenly believed that a green label was an assurance of a building’s capacity for earthquake resistance.
“Building owners must recognise the need for them to undertake further assessment work, even for green-labelled buildings.”
A detailed follow-up engineering assessment will include a careful inspection of the building’s structural elements and analysis of its capacity to resist severe earthquake effects.
NBR staff
Fri, 08 Apr 2011
Fri, 08 Apr 2011
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Green does not mean go for quake-hit buildings
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