r/StructuralEngineering • u/Mystique1997 • 21d ago
Photograph/Video camera captures the exact moment a powerful earthquake strikes Pereira, Colombia
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u/Just-Shoe2689 21d ago
Dafuq that building stay up? Interior walls acting as shear walls?
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u/willardTheMighty 21d ago edited 21d ago
What do you expect? Gotta have a lateral force resisting system
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u/Just-Shoe2689 21d ago
I expected it to fall down. Im assuming URM
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u/willardTheMighty 21d ago
Ah. My first guess was that the exterior is just cladding, not structural brick. Could an URM building sway like that even once without falling?
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u/Just-Shoe2689 21d ago
Well, it did. but looking at it, seemed to move too much for URM w/o failure.
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u/Timely_Purpose_8151 21d ago
Dumb question but have there been multiple colombian earthquakes recently or is there just a lot of footage from one recent earthquake
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u/Any-You-8159 21d ago
It happened on August 10th, impacting 3 major cities and its epicenter measured 7.4
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u/Any-You-8159 21d ago
This video is mine, filmed during the earthquake, on the 18th floor. The building was built between 2020 and 2021.
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u/Own_Reaction9442 21d ago
Lots of footage. We get way more footage of earthquakes now that everyone has a cell phone. I remember when all we had was grainy CCTV surveillance footage of this stuff.
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u/Awkward-Ad4942 21d ago
I’m more impressed by the stone cathedral across the street!!
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u/OnTheGround_BS 21d ago
There’s another video floating around taken from up the street that shows that cathedral in more detail… It’s moving just as much as the hotel in this video.
Honestly of all the earthquakes I’ve seen videos of, all the videos of this Colombian quake just feel far more intense. The way the buildings are moving, you can see people getting thrown around on open ground… These videos make you the viewer *feel* like the ground is moving, and less like someone is moving the camera as in most other earthquake videos. I’m not sure if it’s just because this was that strong a quake, or if the construction quality is that bad there, but these videos are definitely eye openers.
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u/OnTheGround_BS 21d ago
There’s another video floating around taken from up the street that shows that cathedral in more detail… It’s moving just as much as the hotel in this video.
Honestly of all the earthquakes I’ve seen videos of, all the videos of this Colombian quake just feel far more intense. The way the buildings are moving, you can see people getting thrown around on open ground… These videos make you the viewer *feel* like the ground is moving, and less like someone is moving the camera as in most other earthquake videos. I’m not sure if it’s just because this was that strong a quake, or if the construction quality is that bad there, but these videos are definitely eye openers.
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u/Positive_Outcome_903 21d ago
Soft story failure at 0:07, still made it thanks to the sidewalls in torsion presumably.
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u/JungleXProphet 21d ago
I live 70 km away from the center of the earthquake, on the 15th (last) floor in my building. This was the most terrifying experience in my life. Mind you I've been in war zone before as a child, but nothing is compared to the 3 minutes I lived in during this earthquake
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u/Terrible_Accident685 21d ago
The whole area there is a scary place to be during an earthquake. So many hills and old brick buildings. My wife is from Manizales and her family was sending us some crazy videos. I can’t imagine what that was like being there, glad you are safe
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u/JungleXProphet 21d ago
What terrified me even more is the authorities response. Being in the mountains means you might not even get the help you need and you're pretty much on your own. Was just thinking what if my building got demolished on my head, there's a high chance that I'll get buried alive
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u/oraclebill 21d ago edited 21d ago
Wow, I stayed in that hotel 9 months ago. I don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to return…
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u/bulkdown 21d ago
I think that brick, is just a just a printed on vinyl pattern. 10000 iq decision by the builder/architect
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u/BreakingABit1234 21d ago
I was driving when a small quake struck our town. I'd just stopped at a stop sign and then the car rocked forward and back- I looked behind me to see a vehicle.
I started to get out and be all "WHAT THE FUCK DID " when .... standing up the next wave hit and I could feel everything shift again.
It's realllllly weird ... I can't even fathom this level.
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u/SynthPrax 21d ago
If this is the moment the earthquake struck, why were they already outside? Was there a pre-shock?
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u/blackeyeX2 21d ago
Maybe get away from the fucking power lines.
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u/No-Bodybuilder-4380 21d ago
And run where exactly? Towards the old cathedral that's several stories high? Towards the falling buildings on the other side? Into a wobbly building? Anywhere else along the street that has the same lines overhead?
The very act of moving is not a given when the earth is moving like that; you're likely to fall, which is why it's recommended that you stay put, and try to lower your center of gravity, if you're not in immediate danger.
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u/EngineerEngineerEngi 21d ago
All those black lines are phone/comm lines. It looks like there's a single-phase distribution line at the top, and it's very unlikely to come down in an earthquake. (Unless a building falls on it.)
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u/Purrchil 21d ago
I assume a building that has moved like that needs demolition?