Seismic Building

Codes in the U.S.

A Thirty-Five Year Retrospective of NEHRP Provisions

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 SEISMIC BUILDING CODES IN THE U.S.
A Thirty-Five Year Retrospective of NEHRP Provisions

Background and maintenance of buildings and other structures, are

adopted and enforced by state, local, tribal and territorial
The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) jurisdictions. This is one of the primary ways a community
Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures safeguards itself from potential earthquake losses. Forty years
(called here the NEHRP Provisions) is a technical resource ago, state and local governments did not adopt the same
document for improving national seismic design standards
nationwide seismic regulations, causing inconsistencies in
and model building codes. Regularly updated by the Building
levels of protection.
Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) and published by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), its frst edition Since its inception, the NEHRP Provisions has sought to provide
was published in 1985 and the tenth edition was published nationwide consistency in seismic code regulations while
in 2020. accounting for varying seismicity and different approaches
Because earthquakes can cause building damage, signifcant for designing new buildings and other structures. The
losses, and disruption of operations, building codes that NEHRP Provisions offers the latest geoscience information
strengthen and improve building seismic performance are about varying levels of seismicity and provides the beneft
of great importance. The national model building codes in of making the architecture, engineering, construction, and
the U.S., which regulate the design, construction, alteration, construction materials industries operate more effciently.

1927 UBC (Uniform 1933: Field Act and 1959 Blue Book 1977: Passage of 1978 ATC 3-06 Project
Building Code) Included Riley Act. the first Developed by SEAOC, National Earthquake Funded by NSF and NIST,
first seismic provisions, mandatory statewide incorporated by UBC, Hazards Reduction developed advanced
with non-mandatory adoption of seismic adopted by the Act (NEHRP) seismic analysis and
appendix requirements Western US design methods.

1900 1930 1950 1970 1980

1906 San Francisco Earthquake: 1933 Long Beach Earthquake: the extensive 1971 San Fernando Earthquake: Damage
stimulated research and education efforts damage to schools and other buildings was to modern construction conforming to UBC
in the U.S., but seismic building code the impetus for the first statewide seismic regulations motivated a fresh look at
regulations were not adopted. code regulations seismic regulations

Seismic Regulation Initiation with a California-Centric Effort

1985 NEHRP Provisions 1988, 1991, 1994 NEHRP 1997, 2000, and 2003 NEHRP 2009, 2015, and 2020 NEHRP
1st edition, developed based Provisions Provisions Provisions
on lessons learned through a Written in code language for Formed the basis of the first Keep serving as the state-of-the-art
FEMA initiative on a national direct adoption by regional edition of International Building document providing recommended
trial design of ATC-3 methods. model codes and national Code (2000 IBC) and its changes to ASCE 7 standards, which
standards. following editions. were then adopted by IBC.

1985 1990 2000 2020

1985 Mexico City and 1989 Loma Prieta 1994 Northridge Earthquake:
Earthquakes: illustrated the importance of The high repair cost spurred the
soil conditions on amplification of movement toward
earthquake shaking and vulnerability of soft Performance-Based Design.
and weak story buildings.

Advancements with NEHRP Provisions and National in Scope

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Key Facts about the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions
• Essential to the development
of nationally applicable
seismic codes including the Fundamentals of Seismic Design Process
U.S. Seismic Design Maps
• Developed and updated SS
• Permissible Systems
by the national experts on Seismic • Required Detailing
SDS, SD1 Design
the NIBS/BSSC through Category
• Permissible Analysis
• Nonstructural
a consensus process • Inspection
supported by FEMA S1

• Provide state-of-the-art Seismic parameters The soil that the The building's function and number
information and is the from USGS science structure sits on of people within it are tied to
varying levels of requirements, e.g.,
starting point of seismic they are more strict for the fire
code changes station than the store.

• A key innovation under the (1) determine ground (3) determine design detailing
(2) determine design
NEHRP to convert the effort motion values from strength using SDS, SD1 based on assigned Seismic
USGS science Design Category
of four NEHRP agencies and
bridge public and private
sectors

The Role of the NEHRP Provisions Field Observation and

Research Findings
Designing structures to be resistant to major earthquakes is a complex process,
and developing seismic design provisions and codes that are applicable across the NIST, FEMA, USGS, NSF
nation is even more daunting. The NEHRP Provisions is an essential platform to help and private sectors
advance our seismic design practices effectively and effciently.
Over the past thirty-fve years, the NEHRP Provisions has been the starting point of NEHRP Recommended
seismic code changes and the mechanism to transfer research into application.The Seismic Provisions
NEHRP Provisions is the focal point of the efforts of the four NEHRP agencies (National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), FEMA, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), FEMA/BSSC
and National Science Foundation (NSF)), research and practicing engineers, codes
and standards offcials, and earthquake science experts to reduce seismic risk through
modern building codes. National Standards and Model
Building Codes

Selected Important Advancements

The NEHRP Provisions has been at the forefront of seismic design innovation,
including this selection of important changes.

Seismic Mapping
When the earthquake science community advances our understanding of the
intensity and frequency of earthquakes, engineers need to update their design
basis by translating the science into engineering terms. The modern generation National seismic hazards maps display
of U.S. seismic design maps was frst introduced in the 1997 Provisions, through a earthquake ground motions for various
collabortive effort among FEMA, BSSC, and USGS, which instituted new processes probability levels across the United
for developing the national seismic design maps from the USGS National Seismic States. These maps are the basis for
Hazard Model. Since then, major updates to the U.S. seismic design maps have seismic design provisions of building
been introduced approximately every ten years, in 2007 and 2017, through the codes, insurance rate structures, and
NEHRP Provisions. land-use planning. (credit: USGS)

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The NEHRP Provisions has provided a central forum where the relevant information
and expert opinion on earthquake motions for design can be shared, a great model
of marrying science and engineering into building science. This coordinated
process has sharpened the role of USGS over the years as the central provider of
ground motion mapping for design purposes.

Keeping Up with Building Technology

As materials and methods of constructing buildings change and improve, updates to
the NEHRP Provisions must consider new building innovations. It provides a national,
authoritative forum to evaluate and assess new technologies of all kinds with a
focus on new seismic design methods and innovative new seismic structural and
nonstructural systems.
The three new seismic-force-resisting systems introduced in the 2020 NEHRP
Provisions are shown to the right.

Design for Tall Buildings

Nonlinear response history analysis is a sophisticated procedure in which a building
design is subjected by computer analysis to a number of simulated earthquakes the
Reinforced concrete ductile coupled
building may experience. Through this process, weak spots are identifed so that
walls (credit: MKA)
the results envelop the worst results based on engineering parameters. A revised
design is then fnalized to address these weaknesses.
The nonlinear response history analysis procedure is recognized as a more precise
tool to analyze and design most new tall buildings in seismically active regions of
the world and those which employ advanced protective technologies. A complete
reformulation of the procedure was introduced in the 2015 Provisions.

Detailed Nonstructural Protection Provisions

Prior to the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions, building code seismic
regulations for nonstructural components, including the architectural, mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing systems of a building, were only generally stated. The Cross-laminated timber shear wall
NEHRP Provisions modernized this process by categorizing many specifc types of (credit: Lendlease)
components and their acceptable performance, and in the case of some equipment
in essential occupancies, continued functionality after an earthquake.

Investment Returns (Beneft vs. Cost)

A study conducted by the National Institute of Building Sciences Multi-Hazard
Mitigation Council concluded that enhanced earthquake design requirements over
the last 30 years could save $7 billion per year in losses while only adding $600
million per year in construction cost, producing a national average Beneft-Cost
Ratio of 12:1.
The Beneft-Cost Ratio is highest where seismicity is greatest, but the net benefts
are also evident in areas of moderate seismicity. Designing up to the requirements
of the NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions does not guarantee complete protection
free of damage, but it does lead to greatly reduced damage.

Steel and concrete coupled composite

plate shear walls (credit: MKA)

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Future Improvements
In the United States, about
The NEHRP Provisions has become a well-known brand name in the earthquake feld half the American population
and has pervasive infuence. across more than 20
states has a moderate or
Staying Up to Date high risk of experiencing
damaging earthquakes.
The NEHRP Provisions continues to be updated by FEMA and BSSC today through
Earthquakes are a real
evaluation of the large volume of new seismic information produced every year
threat. Our nation’s seismic
from analytical studies, laboratory testing, earth science research, new construction
risk is largely mitigated
products and methods, input on practical seismic design aspects from the
through earthquake -
building industry and design practitioners, and by the lessons learned from recent
resistant buildings, which are
earthquakes.
regulated by model building
codes.
Community-Based Design
Consideration has been suggested to expand seismic design to consider the entire
community. Currently, structures are evaluated individually, but this would expand
consideration to lifelines, utilities systems such as electricity, water, and wastewater,
transportation, and more. The process by which the NEHRP Provisions are developed
for buildings is instrumental for the development of more robust standards and
guidelines for lifelines/utilities.The 2015 and 2020 editions included white papers
on conceptual post-earthquake functional recovery and economic performance
criteria, and a more comprehensive effort is recommended to address resilience-
based seismic design through the consideration of functional recovery.

Outreach, Education, Dissemination

The FEMA program in support of the NEHRP Provisions is not limited to the
development and publication of each new edition. The NEHRP Recommended Seismic
Provisions and companion documents are widely referenced throughout the U.S. and
globally as a university-level earthquake engineering teaching resource. Special
publications provide design examples to walk a practicing engineer through the
process of using the NEHRP Provisions. Outreach, education, and dissemination
activities to support the application of the NEHRP Provisions will continue to be an City skyline in California (credit:
important objective. Cameron Venti)

Learn More
A comprehensive companion document, The Role of the NEHRP Recommended Seismic
Provisions in the Development of Nationwide Seismic Building Code Regulations: A Thirty-Five Year
Retrospective (FEMA P-2156), explains in more detail the topics that are briefy
presented here as well as covering other technical aspects of the NEHRP Recommended
Seismic Provisions.

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