Efectos de los terremotos regionales en las edificaciones en Asunción – Paraguay

Abstract

Paraguay has its own seismic activity that stands out for events of moderate to low magnitude. Additionally, regional earthquakes have an impact on Paraguay, especially on buildings in the city of Asuncion. This particular fact is the subject of study in the present work. When an event in Argentina or Chile carries enough energy and reaches the national territory, some buildings flex because they enter a resonance phase, and the oscillation is perceived by people causing panic. The flexion will be maximum at the upper end of the structures, which is why this feeling of instability is accentuated on the upper floors of buildings. It is considered that this type of effect will be constant in the future, random in time, and increasing in the number of episodes and reports, taking into account the high seismicity in the north of Argentina and in the north-central region of Chile, and also the incessant construction of new buildings in Asuncion. The response of buildings to regional earthquakes is, until now, unpredictable, due to the lack of studies on site effects in each building where resonance has been observed.