Shows you how - a photo on Flickriver

Shows you how

SEVEN MONTHS ON (16 of 19).
Understorey of new apartment block near Inciampa La Notte, SW of L'Áquila (Abruzzo, Italy) showing anti-seismic construction of supporting pillars (1 of 2).

Compare the construction of these columnar supports with those of various apartment blocks in Pettino in this same photo set (nos. 11-15). This building appears to have been constructed after the photos for Google Street View were taken, but whether it was before or after the earthquake, I don't know. But if as seems likely, this large block was not completed in seven months or less, it was presumably already in place when the earthquake struck. In this case, the photo shows how little, if at all, the block was affected.

I have given further information about this earthquake, and the legal events arising from it, in the description to my accompanying image in this series, Rubble Trouble. For an interesting perspective on the post-earthquake situation in and around L'Áquila, see this photo and article.

NOTE ON PLACE NAMES
Flickr map gives the locality for this photo as "Cavalletto" but this is about 2 Km further to SE. This block, though not present in Google Satellite View presumably because it had not been built yet (see below). It would be beyond resolution in Flickr Satellite View. The block lies just off the via Mausonia, about 3.5 Km SW of the centre of L'Áquila, between Fonte Mortale and Inciampa La Notte - intriguing place names which seem to translate roughly as 'Fatal Spring' and 'Night Stumble'.) Flickr Map gives the formal Region name as *Abruzzi" here, but "Abruzzo'" is the correct rendering.

GEOLOGICAL NOTES
I have not so far found online technical information which describes this particular system of earthquake protection, so the following is inference. The superstructure of the upper storeys of this block are relatively independent of these pillars and their foundations, i.e more or less decoupled from each other. The system appears to work a bit like a large shock-absorber, as found on road vehicles. It seems to consist of a piston-like column which is continuous with the upper storeys, and located inside the outer hollow column. The outer column is part of the foundations. The piston is cushioned from the supporting column (? hydraulically) such that in an earthquake it (and the upper storeys of the block) can remain relatively independent of the movement of the foundations and the eartth's crust. Since the movements in an earthquake are in the ground itself, the combination of the inertia of the building and its decoupling from the moving ground, mean that stresses on the building are heavily damped by this system. Presumably though, the system is specified for an estimated upper limit of expected ground deflections and would start to fail at levels exceeding that.

"The 2009 L'Áquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 3:32 local time on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale; its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together with surrounding villages [like Pettino here] suffered most damage. There have been several thousand foreshocks and aftershocks since December 2008, more than thirty of which had a Richter magnitude greater than 3.5. The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 308 people are known to have died, making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 Irpinia earthquake."
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_L%27Aquila_earthquake

According to our geological friends in this area, it is well established that there is an approximately 100-year cycle of earthquakes in the L'Áquila region, and the timing of this one fits with this cycle. Tectonically, this part of the Apennines is in a tensional regime dominated by normal block faulting, and the earthquake was generated along normal faults in and around L'Áquila.

Photo
Brian
© Darkroom Daze Creative Commons.
If you would like to use or refer to this image, please link or attribute.
ID: DSC_0226.JPG - Version 2

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Taken in: Italia / Abruzzo / Cavalletto (show map)

Taken on: November 21, 2009

Tags:

Italy

Abruzzo

geology

seismology

Italia

terremoto

apartment_block

anit-seismic_construction

earthquake

L'Áquila

L'Áquila_earthquake_2009

Inciampa_La_Notte « less

Sets appears in: • Geology, scenery and building materials: Italy • Italy: Abruzzo more » • Italy: 7 months after the L'Áquila earthquake « less

Camera: Nikon D5000, f/3.5, 1/60 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5000
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Fired, Return detected
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	QuickTime 7.6.6
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