The performance of Tall buildings during the 21 September 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan

The 21 September 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake caused serious damage to and collapse of many tall buildings. The adversely affected buildings were virtually all of reinforced concrete construction with the lateral system being composed of moment resisting frames. All seriously damaged and/or collapsed buildings inspected by our team exhibited a set of identifiable and clearly preventable structural design and/or construction defects. This paper presents case studies of several tall building complexes that were the most heavily damaged by this earthquake. The reader should keep in mind, however, that the great majority of tall buildings in Taiwan were not significantly damaged by the Chi-Chi earthquake.