StEER Report on Hurricane Otis - An Event of Historic Proportions

A historic event, Hurricane Otis, impacted Acapulco, Mexico, making it the strongest hurricane to impact the West Coast. A PVRR team was assembled by StEER Network and a report has been recently published by StEER. The report can be found here. From a structural engineering viewpoint, there is an interest in this event given that the design of most impacted mid- and high-rise buildings in the coastal area of Acapulco was governed by seismic loads.

How should hurricane- and seismic-based design philosophies be bridged so that resiliency prevails in a multi-hazard environment? What considerations should be made in developing the next generation of US codes? Considering that similar events can occur in the West Coast of the United States, how would contemporary seismic-protective methods behave under high-wind loading? Should retrofitting be considered? These are some interesting questions that can motivate future research topics.

NHC 3-Day Forcecast for Hurricane Otis between Monday, October 23rd, and Wednesday, October 25th (from StEER Report on Otis).

Before and after images of the recently completed Mare Acapulco Diamante building showing almost complete loss of the exterior glazing at all building floors (from StEER Report on Otis)