| Since the existence of mankind, earthquakes have posed serious threats to human lives and their properties. Nowadays, tremendous progress has been achieved by the scientific and engineering fields in explaining the nature of this phenomenon, and in lessening the losses due to earthquakes. This led to the emergence of seismic design which helped create new regulations and improved building design and construction in earthquake areas.;Traditionally, the field of earthquake research has been dominated by the disciplines of seismology, geophysics and civil engineering focusing on structural damage. In this research the concern was on architectural damage of a non-structural nature. A review of prior studies as well as practical experience have shown that it is uneconomical, therefore, unfeasible to anchor every potentially hazardous non-structural element in a building. The other alternative to provide safety for building occupants and to minimize non-structural damage was to improve seismic design and preparedness by better understanding building occupants' behavior during earthquake situations and how their built environment might affect their reactions. Investigating such behavior of building occupants in earthquakes was the goal of this research.;Based on this conceptualization, research themes were formulated as hypotheses. These hypotheses were tested with an analysis of 118 housing occupants' behavior, and the effects of non-structural elements on such behavior, during the Loma Prieta earthquake. These 118 respondents were randomly sampled in the Marina District of San Francisco. The principal instrument used to collect the information was a questionnaire that was mailed to the study participants.;These research findings have shown that many factors such as the surrounding environment, the building occupants' age, sex and other characteristics such as their specific position at the time of the earthquake, their past experiences with earthquakes or their level of preparedness to such catastrophic events all have varying influences on their reactions to an earthquake. Such reactions have, in their turn, consequences on the probability of encountering obstacles and being injured. This study has clearly established that people's reactions, even for self-protection, if not proper, can result in injuries. It showed that the surrounding space, if not designed to withstand earthquakes, can create a major obstacle for protection. |
