Mexico City during and after the September 19, 2017 earthquake: Assessment of seismic resilience and ongoing recovery process

Abstract

Mexico City was severely affected by the September 19, 2017 Puebla-Morelos earthquake ( M w = 7.1). City authorities confirmed that more than 12,000 structures for all uses were damaged as a consequence of this earthquake. In this paper, the focus of attention is devoted to trying to quantify in a simple manner how resilient the built environment in Mexico City was during the September 19, 2017 earthquake. Global statistics compiled for the severity of damage observed during this seismic event from detailed information gathered from well-documented and detailed damage surveys were used for this purpose. Also, an update is provided on how the seismic reconstruction and recovery processes of the built environment in Mexico City have been after this earthquake. This adaptive resilience has been assessed from reliable information and statistics of the ongoing reconstruction process of the affected built environment in Mexico City. The implementation of structural health monitoring programs for typical, representative buildings within the city would be germane to detect and correct potential structural deficiencies on time before the next strong earthquake may strike, then helping to improve the seismic resilience of the built environment.

Review of Retrofit and Strengthening Strategies Used in Buildings in Mexico City After Strong Earthquakes

“…As consequence of the September 19, 2017 earthquake, and taking aside collapsed and demolished buildings, around 1,405 buildings of all uses experienced moderate damage or severe damage [5,47], so they have to be strengthened or retrofitted. The most severely damaged sector was apartments buildings for housing, where around 1,000 buildings were on those medium and high damage categories and have to be retrofitted [5,47].…”

“…As consequence of the September 19, 2017 earthquake, and taking aside collapsed and demolished buildings, around 1,405 buildings of all uses experienced moderate damage or severe damage [5,47], so they have to be strengthened or retrofitted. The most severely damaged sector was apartments buildings for housing, where around 1,000 buildings were on those medium and high damage categories and have to be retrofitted [5,47]. According to the data reported in the web site Reconstrucción CDMX by city authorities [48], up to March 16, 2021, 324 apartment buildings are being rehabilitated using public funds and the donations from the people and Mexican charitable associations [47][48].…”

“…The most severely damaged sector was apartments buildings for housing, where around 1,000 buildings were on those medium and high damage categories and have to be retrofitted [5,47]. According to the data reported in the web site Reconstrucción CDMX by city authorities [48], up to March 16, 2021, 324 apartment buildings are being rehabilitated using public funds and the donations from the people and Mexican charitable associations [47][48]. Then, around 32.4% of these damaged apartment buildings are being strengthened and retrofitted with public funds, whereas in the remaining inventory, the damage is being repaired by particulars (or no action is being taken at all).…”

Recent Developments in Sea-Level Rise and Its Related Geological Disasters Mitigation: A Review

“…As appeared in ecology in the 1970s, the concept of resilience is to describe the ability of a system to resist and recover from disasters [140]. Now, resilience-based thinking has been extended to various fields, especially disaster management and prevention [141][142][143][144].…”

Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of Multi-Hazard Resilience in Ecologically Fragile Areas of Southwest China: A Case Study in Aba

“…As for dimensions, some researchers incorporated structural dynamics theory [20], community baseline models [21], projection pursuit clustering (PPC) models [1], and disaster resilience of place (DROP) models [22] to develop indicator systems from multiple dimensions, including infrastructure, environment, economy, society, and institutions. Some researchers also established indicator systems for single dimensions of disasters, such as earthquakes [23], floods [24], and landslides [25]. As for scales, resilience exists at multiple levels; so numerous researchers conducted separate studies for communities [26], urban [27], and regions [28].…”