During the Hyogo-Ken Nanbu Earthquake in 1995, as many as a hundred thousand wooden houses were collapsed and the heavy death toll due to the collapse of houses reached ninety percent. In this study, for a wood framed house in the stricken area, micro-tremors were measured on the second floor and on its nearby ground surface. Using these measured results in earthquake response analyses, static hysteresis loop of the resisting shear walls, rigidity and strength of the house were determined by assuming a degrading tri-linear constitutive equation. An analytical response to the earthquake is obtained employing the acceleration recorded at the Kobe Observatory as input. The results obtained by the response analyses give clear explanation to the actual condition of slightly damaged house.
