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The 27 February 2010 offshore Maule, Chile earthquake is a significant event in which modern tall buildings were subjected to strong ground motions having long duration of strong shaking. Although there were few total collapses of buildings in Chile, there were some buildings with serious damage. An understanding of the building codes and standards in force in Chile at the time of the earthquake are a key in understanding the behaviour of tall buildings in this event and future events that are coming. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 27 February 2010 Offshore Maule, Chile earthquake is one of the most significant seismic and earthquake engineering events for many reasons but especially for the study of the dynamic behaviour of tall buildings. Because the earthquake occurred on a subduction zone where the convergence of the Nazca plate with the South American plate occurs, there are similarities to large areas of North America with similar conditions such as the Cascadia subduction zone extending from Northern California to British Columbia; major metropolitan areas that could be affected by the Cascadia subduction zone include Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and Vancouver, BC. The abundance of tall buildings in Chile, particularly in Santiago, Viña del Mar and Concepción, allow for significant case histories into the behaviour of tall buildings in Chile, a country that has similar design and construction practices to the USA, where there is also an abundance of tall buildings in major population areas. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A very large coseismic displacement (≈304 cm) was recorded at the city of Concepción during the moment magnitude (Mw) 8·8 Offshore Maule, Chile earthquake of 27 February 2010. The Alto Rio building, a 15-storey reinforced concrete structure with two underground levels, experienced a global overturning collapse, resulting in the death of eight of its occupants. Ever since, a lingering question has preoccupied the minds of structural engineers and earth scientists: Did the large coseismic displacement cause the overturning collapse of this building? The answer based on the analyses provided in this paper is no. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mega earthquake of 27 February 2010, offshore Maule, Chile with moment magnitude of 8·8 is the fifth largest recorded earthquake in the world and, therefore, is considered to be a mega earthquake. This subduction interplate thrust earthquake occurred at the convergence of the Nazca (oceanic) plate with the South American continental plate. This type of earthquake affects the north-western region of USA and Canada, as well as Alaska. Therefore, it is important to study the characteristics of the recorded accelerograms and their effects on the future behaviour of tall buildings in USA. Although the earthquake produced accelerographic records with very high ground motions in terms of peak ground accelerations and very long duration of ground shaking, the observed damage from this earthquake was more like the level of damage expected from a moment magnitude 8?0 rather than a moment magnitude of 8?8. This may be the result of asperities in the fault rupture surface. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnitude 8·8 Offshore Maule, Chile earthquake is a significant event in seismology and earthquake engineering. The earthquake occurred on a convergent plate boundary (subduction zone) and affected a large area that a significant number of tall buildings designed to modern building codes. An understanding of the seismological and tectonic setting of this earthquake, together with understanding of the behaviour of structures, will further research and enhancements in seismic design in similar convergent plate boundary environments, such as the Cascadia subduction zone off the coast of the Pacific north-west in the USA and Canada and other areas around the world. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]