Highlights of a cursory study of behavior of three instrumented buildings during the Mw7.1 Anchorage, Alaska, earthquake of November 30, 2018

Abstract

This is a cursory study of the recorded responses of three buildings instrumented by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Anchorage, Alaska, during the M w "> M w Mw 7.1 earthquake of 30 November 2018. The earthquake caused the strongest shaking in Anchorage since the well‐known 1964 M w "> M w Mw 9.2 Great Alaska earthquake. Since the 1964 event, several structures (buildings and bridges) in Anchorage have been instrumented by the USGS, and their responses have been recorded during multiple events. For each of the three buildings (the 14‐story Frontier Building, the 20‐story Atwood Building, and the 22‐story Hilton Hotel) studied herein, essential dynamic characteristics and significant behavioral aspects such as beating and torsional motions are identified. Recorded peak accelerations and displacements are provided, and average drift ratios are computed using the peak displacements at the roof levels with respect to the ground level. These average drift ratios imply that the motions are at levels expected not to cause damage to the buildings. Visualization videos of both the 14‐story Frontier and the 20‐story Atwood Buildings have been developed to display overall shaking of the buildings during the earthquake.