Development and Application of Data Collection Forms for Post-Earthquake
Surveys of Structural Damage and Human Casualties
G. Sayeed Choudhury, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering,
The Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD 21218-2699
and Nicholas P. Jones, Department of Civil Engineering, The Johns Hopkins
Univ., Baltimore, MD 21218-2699
Abstract:
To reduce loss of life and injury resulting from earthquakes, the relationship
between earthquake-induced building failure and injury severity and
distribution needs to be clarified. For this purpose, a series of data
collection forms were developed to collect pertinent data for post-event
analysis and to provide a basis for structural triage in the field shortly
following an earthquake for search and rescue purposes. A companion paper
described the identification of variables affecting the outcome of an occupant
of a damaged building and the classification of these variables into three
levels of priority for data collection. This paper continues the development
by describing the design of the data collection forms and the application of
the forms to damaged buildings from past earthquakes. These forms represent a
significant departure from existing forms in that they consider both casualties
and building damage jointly, and in a consistent format.