Visit The Syria Report Subscribe to our mailing list
EN ع
  • Twitter
Syria Report
  • All articles
  • News
  • Analysis & Features
  • Reports & Papers
  • Regulations
  • Directory
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Home1 / HLP2 / Analysis & Features3 / Explained: Issues with the Syrian Construction Code’s Earthquakes Appendix4
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Explained: Issues with the Syrian Construction Code’s Earthquakes Appendix

28-02-2023/in Analysis & Features, HLP /by Rand Shamaa

The Syrian Arab Code for the Design and Implementation of Reinforced Concrete Structures and its earthquakes appendix sets strict standards for construction. However, after the recent earthquake, the damage to buildings licensed under the code raises questions about its effectiveness.

The code and its appendix require specific steps to be followed when constructing an earthquake-resistant building, including criteria on the type of iron reinforcements, the portion of concrete in square metres, and the ratios for concrete mixes, as well as information regarding the design of the structural sequence, i.e. the distribution of the building foundations, retaining walls, and load-bearing shear walls. After completing the design, which indicates that a planned building complies with the standards of the earthquake appendix, it must be submitted to the local administrative unit before obtaining a construction permit. 

The Engineers Syndicate and the local administrative unit are subsequently responsible for supervising adherence to the code during the various stages of construction. 

When digging begins at the construction site, the builders – usually the contractors – submit soil samples for testing at specialised civil engineering labs affiliated with public universities or government institutions. The records of these test results are documented in an official register that can later be referenced. The foundation design and concrete mixes for the planned building may be modified according to the test results. As the construction process continues, the builder must also present samples of the concrete mix to officially accredited labs to test whether they adhere to the descriptions within the design study. These labs then issue official reports either approving or rejecting the concrete mixes. Like the soil samples, the results are recorded in an official register that can be referenced later. 

In short, even considering the cases of negligence and corruption, strict criteria still exist for implementing the code during the design and construction process. Such rigorous standards mean we must examine the code to understand why many licensed buildings collapsed in the earthquake.  

First, there is a purely technical issue in the code: the earthquakes appendix uses a cacophony of different scales to measure earthquake intensity, energy, and size, such as the Mercalli intensity scale, the peak ground acceleration (PGA) measured in metre per second squared, the PGA in square centimetres per second squared, and the PGA attributed to the gravitational acceleration scale. PGA measures the ground acceleration during earthquake shaking in a given location.

These scales measure different seismic events using various methods with no direct relationship between them. As such, the earthquake appendix appears to be a mix of scales borrowed from various international construction codes with no clear justification or reason for using them. Remarkably, the appendix leaves out the widely used Richter scale entirely.

Beyond the cacophony of scales, there is an even bigger problem. Part H of the earthquake appendix states that Syria’s most seismically dangerous areas are located in the country’s west, where the PGA measures 300-400 centimetres per second squared during an earthquake. Yet, the appendix requires residential construction designs in these areas to resist a maximum PGA of only 300 centimetres per second squared. It is unclear why the code does not require resistance to a PGA of 400, as expected in these regions. 

Because it is difficult to use these complex scales in the design process for earthquake-resistant buildings, engineers hoping to obtain construction permits in western parts of the country design their buildings to resist magnitude-6 quakes on the Richter scale. Theoretically, this is roughly equivalent (albeit with much simplification) to a PGA of 300 centimetres per second squared. In either case, permits are granted for residential buildings in high-density parts of western Syria so long as they can resist magnitude-6 earthquakes, even though the area is at risk of 6.5-magnitude earthquakes and higher. 

The code also requires that soil at the excavation level of a building’s foundations be tested but does not require any geological study of the construction site. Such a study would mean examining the geological characteristics beneath the foundation level, which is essential because there may be hollow spaces, aquifers, and sandy, unstable soil in areas close to seismic faults below the construction site. Earthquakes can loosen these underground layers, causing the buildings above them to collapse regardless of how earthquake-resistant they are according to the Syrian Arab Code standards. 

The code also fails to account for construction time. Construction in Syria usually takes a long time due to funding issues, complicated bureaucracy, and the need for security approvals. Construction can span decades for public sector projects, social housing and cooperative housing. In such cases, the concrete structure of the built unit remains exposed and unprotected from the weather for long periods. High humidity in coastal areas may erode cement surfaces and cause iron to rust. When construction does resume, no new inspection is done on the concrete structure, leaving the completed buildings vulnerable to collapse in an earthquake. 

Post Views: 54
Tags: earthquake, Syrian_Arab_Code
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://hlp.syria-report.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Logo-300x81.png 0 0 Rand Shamaa https://hlp.syria-report.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Logo-300x81.png Rand Shamaa2023-02-28 18:41:282023-03-21 20:04:44Explained: Issues with the Syrian Construction Code’s Earthquakes Appendix

Read also

  • Explained: Decree Grants Tax Exemptions to People Impacted by February 6 Quake
  • Explained: Syrian Law and HLP Rights in Natural Disasters
  • Explained: Issues with the Syrian Construction Code’s Earthquakes Appendix
  • Explained: Earthquake-resistant Building Design Basics
HelpAbout usContact usAdvertise with The Syria ReportTerms & conditions
Copyright © 2022 The Syria Report – all rights reserved. Your use of this website is subject to our legal terms & conditions
إدلب ضحية البناء العشوائي مفتاح: عيوب ملحق الزلازل في الكود السوري
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Ok

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.