Day 6 – Chile Earthquake 2010 – Concepcion Hospital
Concepcion
Bldg ID 3-13
Concepcion Hospital (36⁰ 49′ 30″, 73⁰ 02′ 16″)
Three separate buildings, construction dates 1943, 1987 and 2009, make up the main buildings of the largest hospital in Chile. This 1000 bed hospital campus also has support buildings such as the central plant, dining building, MRI and miscellaneous small bungalows. When the earthquake hit, the hospital lost functions to radiology, central processing, ICU, and the boilers in the central plant. Unlike the hospitals in Curico and Talca, this hospital, although closer to the epicenter, performed much better.
The 1943 building, a 6-story concrete frame with brick infill did not sustain too much damage and performed quite well. There were some brick infill panels that sustained damage, but did not fall out. In each operating room, a crack was continuous around the entire wall/ceiling interface. A large number of glass in the windows broke but the remainder of nonstructural damage was relatively minor.
The 1987 building, a 6-story concrete frame with brick infill, performed quite well and had minor damage. However, the bridge structure connecting to the 5th and 6th floors of 1943 building sustained significant damage at the connection interface. Nonstructural damage in the ceiling occurred in the link bridge. The building was abandoned due to the water leak and flooding of the floors below.
The newest structure, a 6-story concrete shearwall building, was designed for a magnitude 9.5 earthquake. A link bridge structure connected to the 1943 building. The two structures performed very well. Only 11 ceiling tiles in the entire hospital fell. ICU was relocated temporarily to the bridge structure after the earthquake.
The central plant, a one-story steel butler framed structure, did not sustain any structural damage. The boilers were off-line except for one, but the anchorage was adequate. A tank elevated on a steel frame shifted during the earthquake and the pumps were disengaged. A make-shift temporary pipe brace was installed in an attempt to prevent future movement.
