SEISMIC PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN PERU

Peru is located in a zone of high seismic risk, where most seismic activity
(approximately 90%) develops in the Circum-Pacific Belt, principally in the coast
area. In this zone occur the convergence or subduction, the Nazca oceanic plate is
inserted under the South American Continental plate, generating earthquakes of
high magnitude.
Happened some notable earthquakes in our country, such as: Lima (1974), Rioja
(1990), Moyobamba (1981), Nazca (1996), Arequipa Moquegua Tacna (2001),
Lamas (2005), Ica and Pisco (2007)
According to the standard E.030: earthquake resistant design of the National
Building Regulations. There are essential structures such as hospitals, water
reservoirs, electrical substations, buildings that can serve as a refuge, as schools.
Important buildings: theaters, libraries, stadiums. Public buildings such as hotels,
houses. Of which 50% to 60% of houses in Peru are self-construction houses,
approximately 2000000 houses are made of adobe, and these are the fastest fall in
an earthquake.
The self-construction is the construction mode without professional intervention of
engineers; this is the principal cause of possible damages to a building when an
earthquake occurs; most people do not hire a civil engineer for lack of money,
however, in time before an earthquake, this bad construction practice might cost us
life.
Of the earthquakes that occurred in Peru, in the earthquake in Ica and Pisco,
engineers were made reinforcement adobe houses with electro welded on the parts
more weak and these houses after of the quake had minimal damage and unlike
other houses without reinforcement.
Today there are technologies that help reduce the effects of the earthquake as
energy dissipators, which are systems that reduce earthquake and seismic isolators
are those systems that separate the structure of the soil, allowing adequate control
of the movement seismic.

Comparing the price of energy dissipators and seismic isolators with constructions
that in an earthquake could have severe damage and even fall.
The Isolators cost minimum to $ 50.00 per square meter and dissipators $ 20, which
are accessible values for building construction in comparison of a destroyed house,
structure will have adequate seismic behavior, compared collapsed structures or
damaged severely after an earthquake. It is much more expensive.
Currently these seismic protection systems are being used in the construction of
offices, companies by private entities, which houses are not reinforced before an
earthquake.
I hope that the state and all people living in our country take aware and decide to
invest in the construction of their homes thus allowing work with good structural civil
engineers, a good approach of reinforcing to minimize the effect of earthquakes.
In addition, I think that society and the government should be taken with more
seriously the reinforcement of important and essential buildings, also incorporate
modern systems of seismic protection