Occupant behavior in a six‐storey office building fallowing severe earthquake damage

Abstract

In the Imperial County, California, earthquake of 15th October 1979, the Imperial County Services Building was seriously damaged — and has subsequently been demolished. At the time of the earthquake there were approximately 123 occupants in the six‐storey reinforced concrete building which housed a number of county service departments. This paper investigates occupant behavior in a building subjected to an earthquake, and describes, in detail, what people do during and immediately subsequent to the shock.