Experts clarify anti-quake buildings   

地震專家稱“建筑物抗幾級地震”說法不科學

“說一個建筑物抗幾級地震的說法是不科學的，我干了一輩子，都找不著機會說。”中國地震局工程力學研究所研究員袁一凡24日接受中新社記者采訪時表示，目前民眾對地震的相關知識仍有不清楚的地方。

Lushan (CNS) -- It is not scientific to say that an anti-quake building can resist a certain magnitude quake, a seismic expert has said.

Media have reported that "the buildings in Baoxing county, which had been built to resist an 8-magnitude quake after the Wenchuan disaster, collapsed during the 7-magnitude quake," which aroused public criticism.

Yuan Yifan, researcher at the Institute of Engineering Mechanics (China Earthquake Administration), said he has been eager to correct the public misunderstanding of anti-quake buildings.

The standard of measuring anti-quake buildings is intensity, not magnitude, Yuan said. "An earthquake can be described with a certain magnitude, but its intensity vary in different places."

The closer to the epicenter, the higher the intensity is, he added.

Zhou Rongjun from the Sichuan provincial earthquake administration said that besides magnitude, the intensity of a quake is directly related to the depth of the hypocenter.

Damage to quake-proof buildings requires an objective attitude, Yuan said. "It is the same with a human body. It is in overall good condition if only the fingers are broken, but the bone structure is preserved."

"A quake is a small probability event, and it is impossible to build a house as firm as a blockhouse, with consideration of cost," he said.

Miao Qisong, deputy general engineer of the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, who participated in the assessment of building safety in affected areas, said that the buildings with seismic isolation technology sustained no structural damage from the quake.