News & Upcoming Events
Detailed Coverage of Latest Disasters
George C. Lee, SUNY Distinquished Professor and Samuel P. Capen, Professor of Engineering, presented a seminar titled The 512 Wenchuan Earthquake of China on June 16, 2008 at the University at Buffalo. He summarized preliminary observations gathered from the internet, media, and earthquake engineering colleagues and contacts in China, and suggested possible lessons learned for structural engineers.
MCEER's Information Service has compiled news, images, videos and statistics for these recent devastating events, the Iowa Floods, the China Earthquake, Sichuan Province and Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar (Burma).
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As of June 13, 2008, record-breaking floods in Iowa have displaced 8,000 people and left 5,500 without electric power. 83 of 99 counties are disaster areas, dozens of bridges have been destroyed, and 3,200 homes have been flooded.
- The Sichuan China Earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008, with a magnitude of 7.9. Estimates of casualties, which are expected to escalate, include more than 12,000 people dead, tens of thousands trapped in structures, more than 180,000 displaced, with widespread damage, including building collapse.
- Cyclone Nargis made landfall on May 3, 2008 with sustained winds of 130 mph and gusts of 150-160 mph, which is the equivalent of a strong Category 3 or minimal Category 4 hurricane, causing widespread devastation. Tens of thousands have already died following the storm, with the toll expected to climb.
The resources will be updated daily.
Michel Bruneau bids “farewell” as MCEER Director, August 31
With MCEER’s future firmly entrenched in continued pursuit of engineering solutions for earthquakes as well as multiple hazards, Michel Bruneau will “pass the torch” as center director on August 31. After having served for 10 years in the leadership of MCEER, Bruneau calls this a “time for fresh ideas and new energies” to build on the strengths of the center. He is serving on a committee tasked by the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Buffalo, to develop recommendations for the new leadership of MCEER.
Sixth National Seismic Conference on Bridges & Highways to be held in Charleston
The Sixth National Seismic Conference on Bridges & Highways will be held July 27-30, 2008 in Charleston, South Carolina. Organized by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and MCEER, University at Buffalo, under the theme “Seismic Technologies for Extreme Loads,” this sixth conference in a series will focus on earthquake risk and include discussions on hurricanes, flooding, and other hazards.
Seminar Series Events
The UB-MCEER-EERI seminar series has held four events this semester, three of which were webcast. Links to the archives are below. More on the series
George Lee Honored by White House
On November 16, 2007, George C. Lee was among 11 people to receive a 2006 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) from President George W. Bush in a ceremony at the White House.
Hospital Room “Shaken” by Earthquake Following University at Buffalo Symposium
Symposium Reviews Building Code Changes; Earthquake Demonstrations Mark Launch of World’s Only Two-Tier Earthquake Simulator
Nearly 100 participants from 18 states, Canada and Mexico, gathered at the University at Buffalo (UB) for a one-day Symposium on Seismic Regulations and Challenges for Protecting Building Equipment, Components & Operations. These included building equipment and isolation/restraint manufacturers, engineers, healthcare facilities managers, faculty researchers, students, and other related practitioners. Following the symposium, participants observed two simulated earthquakes badly damage a fully-equipped hospital room, as University at Buffalo engineers demonstrated their newest earthquake simulation equipment, the world’s only Nonstructural Components Simulator (UB-NCS). The recap includes presentations, photos, links to videos and an online survey for attendees.
Team Investigates Highway Damage following Piso Earthquake in Peru
Photo: Ing. Jack Lopez-Jara
On August 15, 2007, a M.8.0 earthquake occurred off the coast of Peru. According to the USGS, the earthquake killed at least 514 people and injured 1,090, destroying more than 35,500 buildings and damaging 4,200 more. Widespread communications and power outages also occurred. The Pan-American Highway and other main transportation routes suffered heavy damage due to landslides and faulting that resulted from liquefaction of sandy and silty soils near the Pacific Ocean. On September 21-28, 2007, MCEER’s Jerome O’Connor, Senior Program Officer for Transportation Research, and ASCE field investigation team members visited the area to conduct a post-earthquake investigation of damage to the highway system. Our preliminary article includes photos and links to more information.
New Seismic Guide Specification Adopted for LRFD Design of Highway Bridges
At their annual meeting, the AASHTO Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures voted to adopt a new seismic guide specification for LRFD design of highway bridges. The approved two part ballot item updates the current force-based design specification to reflect the use of a 1000 year return period and also presents a newly developed seismic guide specification that uses a displacement based approach. The vote was 47 states Yes, 1 state No, and 0 states abstaining. It was submitted to the general bridge committee by T-3 with unanimous support from T3 member states.
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