We pray that the people affected by this severe
hurricane recover quickly, power get restored,
some shelter above the affected people.


With the frequency of number of hurricanes rising, it does not seem not to be enough to allow the civil defense officials & insurance companies to come to rescue, but for us to engineer installations with additional wind load capability.

Knowing that it is in a civil engineering area of interest, I have a simple query - will UBC basic wind speed change post Katrina & not only emergency shelters, but also the engineered structures in petrochemical facilities be redesigned with additional resistance to wind load ?

regards,

sam

The question of the hour.... UBC will I'm sure take this into consideration, however the damage done was probably on structures that were old and did not meet the current regs and or were hurt by storm surge which means water driven by high winds which UBC does not address.

Hello Sam,

Yes as my venerable and very, very much senior colleague, John Luf, points out Code committees will consider recent events in updating Codes and Standards. But the first consideration will be to determine if the Code protection was already there but not observed or enforced.

B31.3 references ASCE 7 (I think 2002 is the most recent issue), for wind loads but it uses the word “may” – “The method of analysis may be as described in ASCE 7”. The ENGINEER can apply data provided by creditable agencies for any loading but it would be prudent to document the source in the project files. BTW, I think the UBC Code has been superseded by the IBC Code in most jurisdictions.

I have pointed to the American Lifelines Alliance in previous postings, as a source for recently developed guidelines for protecting the infrastructure from naturally occurring, albeit severe loadings. But perhaps another mention would be appropriate to this topic:

“These technical guidelines are to be used as part of an overall decision-making framework. Their scope includes both natural hazards (e.g., earthquakes, flood, hurricane, tornado, windstorm, icing, and ground displacements caused by landslides, frost heave and settlement) and man-made hazards (biological, chemical, radiological, blast, and cyber incidents). Each guideline consists of a two-volume report with concise guidance provided in one volume and commentary and references provided in a separate volume.”

http://www.americanlifelinesalliance.org/Products_new3.htm

The guidelines found at this site represent good and recent committee work by very experienced engineers. I would advize that you use "save target as" to download the publications as hard drive files as they are large volumes. You can selectively print from the files.

Regards, John

just cranky old fart... will do quite nicely....

Here is small story:

After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer.The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot.

"There," he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!"Undisturbed, the master did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain. Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him high into the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log.

Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit."Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground. Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target.

"You have much skill with your bow," the master said, sensing his challenger's predicament, "but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."

To me the lesson is clear: The real talent is being able to apply your skills even in the most adverse situation- without fear, hesitation, or doubt.

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In India, Mumbai lost more than a thousand lives recently due to heavy rain, a similar natural disaster New Orleans is facing at this moment. Although the government & administration were not prepared in Mumbai, people in general reacted very positively. No looting were there in the city. Americans are brave & good people; we wish all to fight this severe natural disaster in a constructive & united manner seriousely & regain whatever is lost.

regards,

sam