2023-08-07 17:27:44
Geology researcher at the American University Tony Nemer tweeted on his account via the “X” platform (formerly Twitter), publishing some of the results of his field observations in Turkey, most of which apply to the nature of Lebanon as well as to many countries in general, according to him.
He revealed that, “The buildings and infrastructure located in areas with coherent and hard rocks were affected much less by seismic vibrations than those located in areas with incoherent rocks or on fragile deposits, and the former mostly remained habitable and usable following the two earthquakes.”
He pointed out that “buildings consisting of a few floors (1 to 3 floors) remained mostly standing, even a few meters away from the landslides.”
He pointed out that “buildings consisting of many floors (4 to 8 floors) have varying rates of impact according to the nature of the rocks beneath them and the nature of their foundations being connected to each other.”
Nimr added, “I did not come across any buildings consisting of more than 8 floors in my field work areas, and therefore not mentioning the condition of those buildings and how they were affected does not bear any interpretation at all.”
He continued, “Some of the testimonies of residents living in buildings very close to the seismic lines indicated that they might not stand due to the intensity of the shaking while trying to leave their homes, but despite this, the majority of their buildings are still standing and habitable.”
He revealed that “the buildings that have been destroyed are mostly built on incoherent rocks with poorly connected foundations.”
Nimr considered, “The large percentage of destruction that resulted from the February 6 earthquakes, whether in Turkey or Syria, is either due to the poor geological nature of the areas (quality of rocks and soil), or the method of building with non-conforming specifications (weak foundations), or both.”
He concluded, “If we take Lebanon as an example but not limited to, it should be noted that the majority of the Lebanese regions have hard rocks, especially where there are tall buildings, and this is a good thing, and the areas with incoherent rocks and weak sediments contain mostly non-high buildings, and this is also good.”
9/9 If we take Lebanon as an example but not limited to, it should be noted that the majority of the Lebanese regions have hard rocks, especially where the tall buildings are, and this is a good thing, and the areas with incoherent rocks and weak sediments contain mostly non-high buildings, and this is also good.
— Tony S. Nemer, PhD (@tony_nemer) August 7, 2023
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