The Best of Tsunami-Resistant Building

The Best of Tsunami-Resistant Building Architects and engineers can design buildings that will stand tall during even the most violent earthquakes. However, a tsunami (pronounced soo-NAH-mee), which is caused by an earthquake, has the power to wash away entire villages. Tragically, no building is tsunami-proof, but some buildings can be designed to resist forceful waves. The challenge of the architect is to design for the event AND design for beauty - the same challenge faced in safe room design. Understanding Tsunamis Tsunamis are usually generated by powerful earthquakes underneath large bodies of water. The seismic event creates a wave that is more complex than when the wind simply blows the waters surface. The wave can travel hundreds of miles an hour until it reaches shallow water and a shoreline. The Japanese word for harbor is tsu and nami means wave. Because Japan is heavily populated, surrounded by water, and in an area of great seismic activity, tsunamis are often associated with this Asian country. They occur, however, all over the world. Historically tsunamis in the United States are most prevalent on the West coast, including California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and, of course, Hawaii. A tsunami wave will behave differently depending on the underwater terrain surrounding the shoreline (i.e., how deep or shallow the water is from the shoreline). Sometimes the wave will be like a tidal bore or surge, and some tsunamis dont crash onto the shoreline at all like a more familiar, wind-driven wave. Instead, the water level may rise very, very quickly in what is called a wave runup, as if the tide has come in all at once - like a 100 foot high tide surge. Tsunami flooding may travel inland more than 1000 feet, and the rundown creates continued damage as the water quickly retreats back out to sea.   What Causes the Damage? Structures tend to be destroyed by tsunamis because of five general causes. First is the force of the water and high-velocity water flow. Stationary objects (like houses) in the path of the wave will resist the force, and, depending how the structure is constructed, the water will go through or around it. Second, the tidal wave will be dirty, and the impact of debris carried by the forceful water may be what destroys a wall, roof, or piling. Third, this floating debris can be on fire, which is then spread among combustible materials. Fourth, the tsunami rushing onto land and then retreating back to the sea creates unexpected erosion and scour of foundations. Whereas erosion is the general wearing away of the ground surface, scour is more localized  - the type of wearing away you see around piers and piles as water flows around stationary objects. Both erosion and scour compromise a structures foundation. The fifth cause of damage is from the waves wind forces. Guidelines for Design In general, flood loads can be calculated like for any other building, but the scale of a tsunamis intensity make building more complicated. Tsunami flood velocities are said to be highly complex and site-specific. Because of the unique nature of building a tsunami-resistant structure, FEMA has a special publication called Guidelines for Design of Structures for Vertical Evacuation from Tsunamis. Early warning systems and horizontal evacuation have been the main strategy for many years. The current thinking, however, is to design buildings with vertical evacuation areas: ...a building or earthen mound that has sufficient height to elevate evacuees above the level of tsunami inundation, and is designed and constructed with the strength and resiliency needed to resist the effects of tsunami waves.... Individual homeowners as well as communities may take this approach. Vertical evacuation areas can be part of the design of a multi-story building, or it can be a more modest, stand-alone structure for a single purpose. Existing structures such as well-constructed parking garages could be designated vertical evacuation areas. 8 Strategies for Tsunami-Resistant Construction Shrewd engineering combined with a swift, efficient warning system can save thousands of lives. Engineers and other experts suggest these strategies for tsunami-resistant construction: Build structures with reinforced concrete instead of wood, even though wood construction is more resilient to earthquakes. Reinforced concrete or steel-frame structures are recommended for vertical evacuation structures.Mitigate resistance. Design structures to let the water flow through. Build multi-story structures, with the first floor being open (or on stilts) or breakaway so the major force of water can move through. Rising water will do less damage if it can flow underneath the structure. Architect Daniel A. Nelson and Designs Northwest Architects often use this approach in the residences they build on the Washington Coast. Again, this design is contrary to seismic practices, which makes this recommendation complicated and site specific.Construct deep foundations, braced at the footings. A tsunamis force can turn an otherwise solid, concrete building completely on its side.Design with redundancy, so that the structure can experience partial failure (e.g., a destroyed post) with out progressive collapse. As much as possible, leave vegetation and reefs intact. They wont stop tsunami waves, but they can slow them down.Orient the building at an angle to the shoreline. Walls that directly face the ocean will suffer more damage.Use continuous steel framing strong enough to resist hurricane-force winds.Design structural connectors that can absorb stress. Whats the Cost? FEMA estimates that a tsunami-resistant structure, including seismic-resistant and progressive collapse-resistant design features, would experience about a 10 to 20% order-of-magnitude increase in total construction costs over that required for normal-use buildings. This article briefly describes design tactics used for buildings in tsunami-prone coastlines. For details about these and other construction techniques, explore the primary sources. Sources United States Tsunami Warning System, NOAA / National weather Service, tsunami.gov/Erosion, Scour, and Foundation Design, FEMA, January 2009, PDF at https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1644-20490-8177/757_apd_5_erosionscour.pdfCoastal Construction Manual, Volume II FEMA, 4th edition, August  2011, pp. 8-15, 8-47, PDF at https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1510-20490-1986/fema55_volii_combined_rev.pdfGuidelines for Design of Structures for Vertical Evacuation from Tsunami, 2nd edition, FEMA P646, April 1, 2012, pp. 1, 16, 35, 55, 111, PDF at https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1426211456953-f02dffee4679d659f62f414639afa806/FEMAP-646_508.pdf  Tsunami-Proof Building by Danbee Kim, http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2009/teams/2/danbee.htm, 2009 [accessed August 13, 2016]The Tech To Make Buildings Earthquake - and Tsunami - Resistant by Andrew Moseman, Popular Mechanics, March 11, 2011How to Make Buildings Safer in Tsunamis by Rollo Reid, Reid Steel

7 of the Most Common Job Search Mistakes

7 of the Most Common Job Search Mistakes You’ve been job searching for ages- whether for your first job or your fifteenth. But nothing seems to be coming together for you. It’s always possible there might be something you are doing to hold yourself back. If in doubt, check yourself for these 7 common  job search  mistakes. 1. You have tunnel visionYou find yourself getting caught up in only one aspect of your job search, like the resume, or interview prep. You’re failing to grasp the overall picture, which is what you need to do in order to really excel. Manage your job search well and make sure you’re devoting sufficient time and attention to all aspects of it, not just the one thing you think you have to nail. Trouble is, you have to nail all of it if you want to be successful in your search.2. You don’t make your search a  priorityYou’ve got your job search on the back burner, thinking: if you stir the pan it once in a while, something will happen without your having to dev ote significant time or resources to the process. This is a mistake. There is never a convenient time to look for a new job. If you really want to find one, you’ll need to make your job search a major priority, no matter what else you have going on.3. You blast out applications but don’t networkYou’re blasting out applications by the dozens. You’ve probably applied to over 100 jobs this month, maybe 200. But you’re not getting any interviews. If you’re blasting out this kind of quantity, you’re probably focusing on online job postings, which is a mistake. You need to be doing the hard work of networking and building up your profiles on social media. You need to be doing more homework. And getting more face time in your industry. So scale back the blitzes, and make your job search smaller but much more targeted. The difference will be clear.4. Your resume doesn’t singRemember, recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds perusing ea ch resume before tossing them into the proverbial shredder. If you’re not making it absolutely easy for them to get all your greatest hits in those 6 minutes, then you need to revamp your resume until it sings. Showcase all of your best information up front. Use bullets if you need to. Don’t bury the lead. And above all, make sure your formatting is clear and easy to read- and can be read by the latest computer tracking systems.5. You wallow in your weak spotsCut yourself a little slack. You’re never going to be perfect. No one is. Stop fixating on what is wrong with you and start playing up your strengths. There has to be something you are good at. Go with that and have confidence in your abilities.6. You  repeat the same job search mistakesNot learning from your mistakes will usually mean you’ll make more and more of them. If you keep running up against the same issues, then it might be time for some self-evaluation and humility. Figure out why youâ⠂¬â„¢re stuck, then rectify. Learning from our mistakes is the only way to really make sure we’re moving forward.7. You’re doing it aloneJob searching takes a village. Don’t try to do it all by yourself. Ask for help from your family, friends, and community. Take advantage of your support system. They’ll be useful in helping you mourn your setbacks, celebrating your victories, and sometimes even making valuable connections!