Reproduction of floor plans of damaged wooden houses in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake in Mashiki Town and the damage of wooden houses based on their cardinal orientation

Abstract

This paper reports field investigation results of seven wooden residential houses in Mashiki Town, Japan that were severely damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake. In this field investigation, the floor plans of these residential houses were reproduced through interviews with earthquake victims. Based on these floor plans, earthquake response analysis was conducted to simulate the probable course of damage. It was found that due to the cardinal orientation of the damaged wooden houses, the seismic response in the X direction (longitudinal direction) has increased, likely as a result of the relationship between the direction of the strong motion and the cardinal orientation.