Study: Vertical water force from tsunami destroys bridges

[kristopher]

Study: Vertical water force from tsunami destroys bridges
November 17, 2011
By YU KOTSUBO / Staff Writer

Some of the bridges swept away by tsunami during the Great East Japan Earthquake had been pushed up by powerful flows--as opposed to being moved horizontally--before being wholly carried away, a university study found.

The new findings highlight the need to investigate the water force imposed vertically on bridges, which has not been fully scrutinized, according to a team conducting the research.

The team, led by Kazuhiko Kawashima, professor of civil engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, examined the ruins of the tsunami-devastated Utatsu-ohashi bridge on Route 45 in Minami-Sanriku, Miyagi Prefecture.

"Because earthquake-resistant standards for bridges have been set uniformly nationwide, similar damage could be caused to other bridges in different areas if another huge tsunami strikes," Kawashima said. "Bridges need to be reinforced against the 'push-up' force of water."

The group particularly looked at...



More at: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/quake_tsunami/AJ201111170075

[RC]

1. The engineers who designed those bridges should have know this could happen

Oh, wait, these were only structural engineers, not nuclear engineers. So that's OK, they'll know better next time.

[Sal Minella]

2. Remember the photos after Katrina -- sections of the roadway

on that great long bridge looked like they'd been lifted and dropped down, no sideways shift to speak of.

[madokie]

3. I'm surprised in Tsunami areas they haven't built the bridges with this in mind already

What the hell do we pay the 1 percenters for anyway
I thought that is why they are the elite because they watch over us so they are worth more or some shit like that.