Venezuela to Introduce Emergency Seismic Code After June 24 Earthquakes

Venezuela will introduce a new emergency seismic code with stricter construction requirements after the double earthquake on June 24. The measure aims to increase the resistance of newly built structures.

Francisco Garcés, the transport minister and president of the Presidential Commission for Infrastructure Habitability Assessment, said the new rules would add requirements to the existing code. They will apply especially conservative criteria in areas such as La Guaira, one of the regions most affected by the earthquake.

Garcés said the new standards would impose tighter limits on seismic threat, ductility and displacement, making new buildings stronger than those built under the previous code. The Emergency Code and Complementary Construction Standards are being prepared by the Earthquake Technical Advisory Committee, which has received advice from international professional and scientific missions.

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You have to follow additional parameters beyond those in the standard.

The presidential commission has completed the first phase of rapid inspections of affected buildings. Authorities assessed 63,568 properties, including 36,910 classified as habitable, 15,000 placed in a yellow category because of damage or restrictions, and 11,658 placed in a red category and declared unfit for occupancy.

The next phases will reinspect yellow and red buildings, certify the damage and prepare repair projects. Garcés warned that structural damage cannot be addressed through superficial repairs. Recovery work, he said, must follow technical projects and receive official approval.

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These structures being built will have a higher level of resistance than under the previous code.