Damage to functional components in hospitals and museums

In the 921 earthquake, medical capacity in the most disastrous area was greatly reduced because several general hospitals in the region were forced to evacuate from their buildings. These buildings suffered only minor structural damage, but had extensive nonstructural damage to the degree that the administration considered the building unfit for continuous use. This paper presents investigation result from four evacuated hospitals to identify key nonstructural elements prevented the normal operation of a hospital. Five museums that suffered no structural damage but some exhibition damage were also surveyed in order to identify the effects of earthquake to a museum. It is concluded that seismic consideration should be given to the important nonstructural components in designing hospitals and museums.