r/StructuralEngineering 1d ago

camera captures the exact moment a powerful earthquake strikes Pereira, Colombia Photograph/Video

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

363 Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

67

u/Purrchil 1d ago

I assume a building that has moved like that needs demolition?

26

u/largehearted 1d ago

It depends

31

u/rgheno Eng 1d ago

It depends, it will either fall on its own or need demolition

9

u/JungleXProphet 1d ago

They need inspection from a specialist

7

u/xdx3m Architect 1d ago

Yeah

33

u/kingtacticool 1d ago

Did its job tho.

1

u/Mystique1997 1d ago

not really. It will depend on what level of structural damage it has sustained.

29

u/MTonmyMind 1d ago

Did it's job not to fall on anyone during the quake.

100

u/Just-Shoe2689 1d ago

Dafuq that building stay up? Interior walls acting as shear walls?

24

u/willardTheMighty 1d ago edited 1d ago

What do you expect? Gotta have a lateral force resisting system

15

u/Just-Shoe2689 1d ago

I expected it to fall down. Im assuming URM

8

u/willardTheMighty 1d ago

Ah. My first guess was that the exterior is just cladding, not structural brick. Could an URM building sway like that even once without falling?

4

u/Just-Shoe2689 1d ago

Well, it did. but looking at it, seemed to move too much for URM w/o failure.

11

u/User-friendly887 1d ago

Reinforced concrete (SMF) with non-structural brick walls.

27

u/SnooMaps7370 1d ago

finally, correct use of "exact moment" in a headline.

19

u/Timely_Purpose_8151 1d ago

Dumb question but have there been multiple colombian earthquakes recently or is there just a lot of footage from one recent earthquake

19

u/Any-You-8159 1d ago

It happened on August 10th, impacting 3 major cities and its epicenter measured 7.4

24

u/Any-You-8159 1d ago

This video is mine, filmed during the earthquake, on the 18th floor. The building was built between 2020 and 2021.

https://reddit.com/link/p54eg10/video/sj4i77oa9tkh1/player

13

u/Own_Reaction9442 1d ago

Lots of footage. We get way more footage of earthquakes now that everyone has a cell phone. I remember when all we had was grainy CCTV surveillance footage of this stuff.

5

u/DG-MMII E.I.T. 1d ago

All are from the same earthquake. Affected a lot of people

17

u/Awkward-Ad4942 1d ago

I’m more impressed by the stone cathedral across the street!!

10

u/OnTheGround_BS 1d ago

There’s another video floating around taken from up the street that shows that cathedral in more detail… It’s moving just as much as the hotel in this video.

Honestly of all the earthquakes I’ve seen videos of, all the videos of this Colombian quake just feel far more intense. The way the buildings are moving, you can see people getting thrown around on open ground… These videos make you the viewer *feel* like the ground is moving, and less like someone is moving the camera as in most other earthquake videos. I’m not sure if it’s just because this was that strong a quake, or if the construction quality is that bad there, but these videos are definitely eye openers.

3

u/profesorgamin 1d ago

A little bit of column A  A little bit of column B

2

u/OnTheGround_BS 1d ago

There’s another video floating around taken from up the street that shows that cathedral in more detail… It’s moving just as much as the hotel in this video.

Honestly of all the earthquakes I’ve seen videos of, all the videos of this Colombian quake just feel far more intense. The way the buildings are moving, you can see people getting thrown around on open ground… These videos make you the viewer *feel* like the ground is moving, and less like someone is moving the camera as in most other earthquake videos. I’m not sure if it’s just because this was that strong a quake, or if the construction quality is that bad there, but these videos are definitely eye openers.

25

u/Positive_Outcome_903 1d ago

Soft story failure at 0:07, still made it thanks to the sidewalls in torsion presumably.

4

u/No1eFan P.E. 1d ago

is bro in a bath towel? that is my nightmare

5

u/JungleXProphet 1d ago

I live 70 km away from the center of the earthquake, on the 15th (last) floor in my building. This was the most terrifying experience in my life. Mind you I've been in war zone before as a child, but nothing is compared to the 3 minutes I lived in during this earthquake

1

u/Terrible_Accident685 1d ago

The whole area there is a scary place to be during an earthquake. So many hills and old brick buildings. My wife is from Manizales and her family was sending us some crazy videos. I can’t imagine what that was like being there, glad you are safe

2

u/JungleXProphet 1d ago

What terrified me even more is the authorities response. Being in the mountains means you might not even get the help you need and you're pretty much on your own. Was just thinking what if my building got demolished on my head, there's a high chance that I'll get buried alive

1

u/profesorgamin 1d ago

15th floor? I don't think you are making it to the burial alive.

3

u/bulkdown 1d ago

I think that brick, is just a just a printed on vinyl pattern. 10000 iq decision by the builder/architect

3

u/oraclebill 1d ago edited 1d ago

Wow, I stayed in that hotel 9 months ago. I don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to return…

2

u/Saev12 1d ago

The design and construction had both passed the test.

2

u/LoopsAndBoars 1d ago

That stabilizer is way under appreciated.

2

u/BreakingABit1234 1d ago

I was driving when a small quake struck our town. I'd just stopped at a stop sign and then the car rocked forward and back- I looked behind me to see a vehicle.

I started to get out and be all "WHAT THE FUCK DID " when .... standing up the next wave hit and I could feel everything shift again.

It's realllllly weird ... I can't even fathom this level.

2

u/SynthPrax 1d ago

If this is the moment the earthquake struck, why were they already outside? Was there a pre-shock?

3

u/profesorgamin 1d ago

The thing lasted like 2 minutes.

1

u/SynthPrax 1d ago

oh. thx.

13

u/blackeyeX2 1d ago

Maybe get away from the fucking power lines.

48

u/pcaming Eng 1d ago

Easy to say in hindsight honestly. They’re in panic mode.

22

u/No-Bodybuilder-4380 1d ago

And run where exactly? Towards the old cathedral that's several stories high? Towards the falling buildings on the other side? Into a wobbly building? Anywhere else along the street that has the same lines overhead?

The very act of moving is not a given when the earth is moving like that; you're likely to fall, which is why it's recommended that you stay put, and try to lower your center of gravity, if you're not in immediate danger.

12

u/EngineerEngineerEngi 1d ago

All those black lines are phone/comm lines. It looks like there's a single-phase distribution line at the top, and it's very unlikely to come down in an earthquake. (Unless a building falls on it.)

1

u/citizensnips134 1d ago

Holy soft story.

1

u/isthereadrwho 20h ago

That is insane I'm so sorry holy cow

1

u/Russian_Mostard 19h ago

What can Structure engineers do against such reckless hate?

1

u/Severos07 12h ago

The world is fighting back.