Seismic guidelines for ports.

Includes bibliographical references

Past experience has shown that earthquakes can cause serious damage to ports, with substantial losses of operations and economic impacts. Despite this, there are no established seismic design and strengthening provisions for port structures in the United States, and, in fact, seismic risk reduction has often not been implemented at many ports throughout the country that could be at risk from a major earthquake. This document is intended to provide a first step in the eventual development of a nationally-recognized manual of recommended seismic risk reduction practice for seaports and inland waterway ports throughout the United States. It contains: a) a summary of the current state of knowledge and practice for evaluating seismic risks to port systems and components, and for reducing these risks through sound engineering design, analysis, and strengthening measures as well as emergency response and recovery planning; and, b) recommended directions for improving this current state of seismic risk reduction practice. The guidelines provided in this document are based on information compiled from the observed performance of ports during past earthquakes, from current engineering knowledge and experience, and from relevant research. The guidelines are intended to serve as a resource for engineers, planners, and administrators from port authorities, government, consulting engineering firms, port tenants, and port stakeholders who are responsiuble for and involved in the development and implementation of seismic safety measures for their port