Performance of reinforced concrete buildings during the November 26, 2019 Albania earthquake (Mw 6.4) and December 29, 2020 Petrinja earthquake (Mw 6.4)

Abstract

Past earthquakes have affected millions of people whose lives changed within a minute, and caused damage or collapse of thousands of buildings and infrastructure systems. In many cases, earthquakes have long-term consequences. Therefore, it is very important to study the effects of damaging earthquakes and share the lessons and field experience with technical professionals and general public. The authors are members of Serbian Association for Earthquake Engineering (SUZI-SAEE), which organized reconnaissance visits to the areas affected by the November 26, 2019 Durrës, Albania earthquake (Mw 6.4) and the December 29, 2020 Petrinja Croatia earthquake (Mw 6.4). This paper presents findings on the performance of reinforced concrete buildings in these two events. Characteristic damage patterns are presented in the paper, along with the explanation of the causes of damage and recommendations for future engineering practice in the affected countries and the region.