Bigger trucks, bigger loads

Well said IPENZ
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/new-zealand/news/article.cfm?l_id=71&objectid=10588233

Building collapses around the world

The list of building collapses continues. Go to http://twitter.com/KLWalls
Where is the engineering input and compliance with building codes?

Building collapses - where is the engineering input?

One of many building collapses - Haiti
http://bildingblocks.blogspot.com/2008/11/building-collapse-in-haiti.html

Burundi, East Africa - 10 July 2009
http://www.congoo.com/news/2009July10/Fourteen-dead-partially-constructed-building

Barisal, Bangladesh - 12 July 2009
http://www.southasianmedia.net/cnn.cfm?id=593726&category=Social%20Sectors&Country=BANGLADESH

Lagos, Nigeria - 13 July 2009. More government legislation called for.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/homes_property/article15//indexn3_html?pdate=130709&ptitle=Engineers,%20others%20urge%20multi-disciplinary%20strategies%20to%20curb%20building%20collapse&cpdate=130709

Boston, USA - 13 July 2009
http://wbztv.com/local/huntington.avenue.building.2.1083188.html

Istanbul, Turkey - 14 July 2009
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=180853&bolum=100

Bridge collapse, India - 14 July 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h00UNGeKcIley2uxzOV0-lPAsuoQD99DBDDO0

Karachi, Pakistan - 15 July 2009 - collapse resulting from a fire
http://www.geo.tv/7-15-2009/46008.htm

House in Ahmedabad - 15 July 2009
http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20090715/1416/tnl-two-killed-in-building-collapse.html

East Delhi, India - 16 July 2009
http://in.news.yahoo.com/20/20090715/1416/tnl-two-persons-injured-in-building-coll.html

Brazil - 19 July 2009

http://www.news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=689972776678790

Ogbomoso, Nigeria - 20 July 2009
http://www.tribune.com.ng/20072009/news/news5.html

Traditional divine powershift from engineers to physicists?

Traditional divine powershift from engineers to physicists with a change in paradigm in relation to earthquake design for buildings?
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Science/story?id=8112569&page=1

Do you think the economic downturn could be positive?

The downturn could be positive from an environmental point of view. Doing more with less seems like a good idea for those of us concerned about an insatiable use of resources and the sustainability of the world. Developing better technology and doing things smarter in a recession should be an experience we could use in the long term, even when the economic situation has improved. Those companies that are in tune with this approach to business are going to be those who flourish in the future.

Six die in high-rise fire in London

Deja vu. Fire knows no political boundaries or differences between developed and developing countries.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/07/03/london.fire/index.html?eref=rss_latest

http://bildingblocks.blogspot.com/2009/02/fire-in-astrakhan-russia.html

Earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy - April 2009

Naturally we cannot prevent earthquakes from happening, but is it a case of deja vu? I mean the seemingly unnecessary death and destruction in L'Aquila, Italy, due to the earthquake on about 6 April 2009.

Italy ranks with some other countries such as New Zealand, Japan and the US in having the most highly developed and advanced seismic design abilities, and yet the San Salvatore public hospital which was built in 2000, was able to collapse along with historic churches and stone houses. Did other modern buildings suffer from similar damage? How could this happen?

Italy is so much involved in advanced engineering research and seismic design that it is the base of the new Global Earthquake Model (GEM). Take a look at these websites.

http://www.globalquakemodel.org/
http://www.globalquakemodel.org/RossSteinsVisionSpeech.html

The answer to the vexing question of how this could happen may be amongst the reports of relative chaos in the way building controls are administered in Italy. As one commentator said,
"In a country littered with illegal buildings and construction eyesores, experts blamed the use of low-quality cement and inadequate supporting iron rods, saying tens of thousands of palaces, schools and hospitals were at risk".

Elsewhere in this blog I have said that we must realise that the investment in enforcing seismic codes on a nation-wide basis and strengthening unsafe structures in risk areas is a smaller price to pay than the pain and suffering, the economics of lost livelihoods, bankrupt businesses and the fear and guilt.