Inspección y evaluación sísmica simplificada de los hospitales básicos de la región sierra centro – norte, Ecuador en el 2023

Abstract

This research project focuses on generating a database and comparing the level of vulnerability of 17 basic hospitals in the Sierra Centro-Norte Region of Ecuador. The vulnerability assessment was conducted using the vulnerability grade "S," following the NEC standard, and was contrasted with the vulnerability index determined by the OPS during the "Inspection y Evaluation Seismic Simplified the Hospitals Basic’s in the Regions Sierra Central - North, Ecuador in 2023".

Throughout the project, thorough inspections were carried out in each of the hospitals gathering detailed information about their layout, current state, and renovations undertaken over time. To delve deeper into the analysis, the ETABS computational software was employed to model the most vulnerable structure, revealing significant structural issues such as beam deflections, displacements exceeding permissible limits, and torsion in the plan.

In this context, detailed plans are presented for 10 buildings, which originally shared similar construction methods, geometry, and distribution. However, over the years, modifications were made that compromised their structural systems, affecting them resistance capacity to seismic events.

These findings are crucial for understanding the current vulnerability of these hospitals and can provide valuable information for future interventions aimed at reinforcing hospital infrastructure in the region, thereby contributing to the safety and protection of the community in the event of natural disasters.