Throughout the world, seismic activity presents a major threat to transportation networks, like airports. In our previous blog, Seismic Safety For Airports: Crucial Concerns, Impacts, And Mitigating Risks, we did an overview of some of the key factors involved in airport seismic safety. Here, we’ll go further into how earthquake-resistant design enhances airport safety. Let’s get into it.

Keeping Airports Functional With Earthquake-Resistant Design

Airports are one of the most important transportation networks globally, which means that critical operations, systems, and structures should remain functional following seismic events. Seismic vulnerability increases life-safety issues, and losing performance of airport systems can cause the airport to lose functionality. 

This is also dependent on the vulnerability and importance of the system, as the system(s) damaged may result in halting airport operations. If certain systems are damaged, they may not affect the operationality of the airport, such as non-vital supplies and storage facilities. Others may not affect aircraft, but can affect everyday airport operations, such as security systems and piping supplies. The most crucial systems to airport operations are the ones needed for aircraft to safely land and takeoff. 

Earthquake-resistant designs can be implemented in order to reduce the vulnerability of airports to seismic events. 

How Earthquake-Resistant Design Helps

Some of the ways in which earthquake-design enhances seismic safety are as follows.

Protecting Critical Infrastructure

Terminals, control towers, and runways and taxiways are vital parts of airport operations. Damage to these structures can lead to serious disruptions. Earthquake-resistant design prevents issues like fallen non-structural systems through the use of measures like seismic bracing, which causes these systems to be able to move with ground-shaking, rather than being shaken loose and wrecking havoc.

Minimizing Life-Safety Risks

Life-safety is the highest priority for airports, especially during a seismic event. Earthquake-resistant design reduces risks to passengers and staff by enhancing the resilience of structural and non-structural systems to shaking. This prevents issues like blocked evacuation routes which can impair the safety to human life. 

Operational Continuity

A major concern for earthquakes during and after a seismic event is the ability to continue operations. Earthquake-resistant design allows for critical services to be resumed quickly and effectively after an earthquake, and enables non-structural systems, such as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, to remain functional. 

Improving Long-Term Resilience

Seismic safety for airports doesn’t just address imminent risks, but supports the long-term safety of the airport. Earthquake-resistant designs reduce the need for costly repairs or rebuilding after an earthquake, contributing to operational resilience. 

Future-Proofing

Seismic building codes are constantly being updated as more is learned about earthquake risks and how better to mitigate them. Future-proofing earthquake-resistant design makes it easier to retrofit or upgrade them as new standards are developed. 

Real-World Example Of Proven Earthquake-Resistant Design for Airports 

VIE has been continuously working on the Salt Lake City International Airport for 7 years to enhance its seismic safety. Our work has proven earthquake performance from the 2020 Magna earthquake. Since nothing failed during the earthquake, the airport put a plaque up demonstrating its proven capabilities.  

VIE successfully designed for all different complexities and conditions involved in seismic activity. Even during that period, our bracing experienced an earthquake – and performed as needed. 

VIE is currently working on Phase 4, the final phase, after successfully completing prior phases.

If you would like to learn more about our work on the Salt Lake City International Airport, feel free to check out our project page here: Salt Lake City International Airport, for some more details. If you have an airport project in need of seismic engineering, you may also contact us if you would like more in-depth knowledge of the type of work we can do and have done for airports. 

Expert Seismic Engineering Services In The United States

VIE has over 40 years of experience in the seismic engineering realm. VIE stands for Value Innovative Engineering, and that’s exactly what we provide to our clients. We either meet or exceed the code requirements of client projects with innovative techniques that substantially reduce the number and size of seismic braces needed through advanced concepts.

We take pride in being a seismic engineering firm that clients come back to, time and again. To learn more about our seismic engineering services and what we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. 

In the Pacific Northwest, there are significant seismic hazards along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This 600-mile-long fault increases the likelihood of an intraplate earthquake, which could result in devastating damage and fatalities. VIE provides seismic bracing design services in Oregon and Washington in order to help clients prepare for natural disasters and mitigate the damage they cause. 

Seismic Risks In Oregon And Washington

Seismic analysis and bracing design are crucial in the Pacific Northwest due to the high seismic activity in these areas. The Cascadia Subduction Zone creates the risk of an M7 or greater earthquake within the next 50 years. The Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a tectonic belt in the Pacific Ocean, is a place where earthquakes commonly occur, due to tectonic plate interactions.

Not only are these two states at risk of an M7 or greater earthquake, they are also at risk of a resulting tsunami of up to 100 ft in height hitting the coastal areas. As such, proper seismic preparation is essential in order to preserve the life-safety condition of structures and mitigate damage that can result from such activity.

How Seismic Bracing Design Can Help

Most damage from earthquakes doesn’t result from the ground shaking itself, but rather from unrestrained non-structural systems, such as plumbing, fire water systems, mechanical systems, electrical systems, and more. Seismic bracing secures these systems, allowing them to move with the structure, rather than against it. 

Seismic bracing design helps with safety, property protection, community resilience, and compliance with legal and insurance requirements. 

• Safety. Seismic bracing helps buildings withstand seismic forces, which provides protection for human lives – something that cannot be overstated.
• Property Protection. Seismic bracing design mitigates the extent of damage to properties, which minimizes economic losses and helps with quicker recovery post-disaster.
• Community Resilience. When critical infrastructure remains functional after an earthquake, communities are able to stay resilient, as they have emergency response and recovery efforts.
• Legal and Insurance Requirement Compliance. It is often legally required to meet certain seismic codes, and whether these codes are met can affect insurability of properties and insurance premiums. 

VIE’s experienced seismic engineers are here to provide you with the seismic engineering services you need to both save lives and protect critical systems.

VIE’s Experience In Oregon And Washington

VIE has completed many projects in Oregon and Washington, from numerous data centers to multi-story, mixed-use buildings, and so much more. We have served as the design engineer of record, seismic bracing installation contractor, bracing procurement and supply entity, and more. We serve the following types of clients:

• Public utilities 
• Private owners of facilities
• State owners of facilities
• Federal facility owners
• Emergency management and response entities
• Municipal entities
• Insurance companies
• Investor groups
• And more

For a representative list of our projects in Oregon, Washington, or just in general, contact us, and we will be happy to provide you with whatever information you need.

Seismic Engineering Services In The United States

VIE Engineers provides the seismic engineering services you can count on throughout the United States. We go beyond simply meeting code requirements in order to ensure that our clients are provided with the most economical, technically effective seismic bracing designs for significantly enhanced value and safety. 

We pull on our first-hand experience from investigating numerous natural disasters and from our 40+ years of experience in the industry in order to help you improve the life-safety condition of buildings, lifeline systems, and facilities.

To learn more about our seismic engineering services and whether we can assist you with your needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you.  

2025 is on the horizon, and with it is a thriving PML market, with a lot of pent-up demand from people who have been waiting for interest rates to fall and who are looking for the best return. If you are looking to get a HUD loan application approved in seismic zones 3 or 4, you’ll need to obtain seismic assessments from licensed engineers. Such PML studies necessitate high levels of expertise in order to ensure that HUD standards are met, in order to avoid loan application rejections.

VIE has performed seismic assessment reports and probable maximum loss studies for hundreds of buildings throughout the United States, many HUD properties included. Here is what you need to know about what working with us for your probable maximum loss studies for your HUD properties can offer you. 

Reasons To Use VIE For PML / HUD Studies

#1. The Work You Need

VIE does work both as a subconsultant for larger companies and for property owners directly. If your company regularly represents buyers and sellers or owners of property and your company does multidisciplinary reports, VIE will do a great job for you. VIE also works directly for property owners or entities acquiring properties. 

People may go through big companies to provide everything they need when acquiring a property. VIE provides seismic services, and provides this service as a subcontractor for large companies, in addition to working directly with entities acquiring properties themselves.

#2. Extensive Experience

VIE has done thousands of PML studies in every earthquake-prone region in the United States in all types of properties, such as warehouses, shopping facilities, government structures, and so much more. We know what we are doing and bring that experience to you. We’ve done extensive work for HUD properties across multiple states and are familiar with the unique needs these properties face.

#3. Quick, Accurate, And Detailed Work

VIE brings practical experience to all of the seismic engineering work that we do. Our engineers get directly to the condition or earthquake resilience of the building very quickly because of how we have done so many facilities. VIE knows what the building is in 10 minutes, thanks to expansive experience, and can evaluate its risks and needs quickly. 

We do our work thoroughly too, with drawings and site reports. Our site reviews are typically very detailed, involving thorough building reviews. Our building reviews include measures such as getting into areas such as crawl spaces in order to clearly see what the structure is, looking into MEP systems, and more, in order to ensure we understand all of the details for the most accurate report.

#4. Realistic Estimates

When you work with VIE for your seismic assessments for HUD properties, you can rest assured that our engineers make PML estimates realistic, not overly conservative and not under conservative either. We do thorough assessments that are very cost effective. What we achieve is very high quality for a very reasonable price.

Seismic Engineering Services In The United States

VIE is equipped with decades of seismic engineering experience. We utilize knowledge from past natural hazards, implementing hands-on experience, in order to achieve the desired response in seismic performance. When you work with VIE, you’re working with committed experts who deliver the custom process each client needs that prepare you for services you may grow to need. We are proud to be an engineering firm that clients return to, time and time again.

To learn more about our seismic engineering services and what we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. We are here to help you with all your seismic engineering needs.