A proposed rapid visual screening procedure for seismic evaluation of RC-frame buildings in India

Poor performance of reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings in India during past earthquakes has been a matter of serious concern. Hence, it becomes important to identify and strengthen the deficient buildings. When dealing with a large building stock, one needs evaluation methods for quick assessment of the seismic safety of existing buildings so that corrective retrofitting measures may be undertaken on the deficient buildings. This paper presents a review of some of the available methods for rapid visual screening (RVS) of RC-frame buildings and proposes a RVS method for RC-frame buildings in India based on systematic studies on damage data of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake. © 2010, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.