Emir Macari, chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, experienced his first earthquake as a 6-day-old infant in Mexico City. He grew up to study earthquakes, examining the way soil moves and how buildings react. Macari headed the National Science Foundation team that investigated the January 2003 earthquake in Colima, Mexico, on the Pacific coast of the country.
How did you get involved with the teams that study earthquakes?
In 1985, there was an 8.2 magnitude earthquake in Mexico City. I was a graduate student and signed up for the scientific team that was going down there. I got to go because I speak Spanish.
Since then, I’ve done projects for the United State Geological Services on behavior of soil and how building foundations react to soil movement. I also was on the team that investigated the 1995 earthquake in Colima.
What was different about the 2003 earthquake?
There was a big earthquake in 1995 in Colima. It was expected to be the last one for 50 or so years. It was a big surprise to see another six or seven years later. We compared the damage between the 1995 earthquake and today and interpolate answers as to how damage occurs from earthquakes.
How did you gather the information and what are you looking for?
We looked at the structures of buildings and used technology like Global Positioning Systems to look at how each space reacted.
We’re trying to find out why certain buildings collapsed and others didn’t. Places in 1995 that didn’t suffer damage and were considered safe this time incurred major damage from an earthquake with less damage.
How did the Colima people react to the earthquake?
A lot of times, when a building made out of masonry and brick is subjected to the power of an earthquake, the walls crack in cross shapes. It starts at the bottom of the wall and goes diagonally, then another crosses it. Some people thought the crosses it made were signs from God telling them they had been bad and were being punished.
Being such a Catholic country, they were very scared this was a symbol — an omen from God.
I tried to dispel this by explaining the scientific facts behind it. I also told them every time they feel an earthquake, they should be grateful, not scared. It’s much better when the energy trapped in the ground gets released little by little. The 2003 Colima quake was a 7.9 magnitude, which is huge, but if it had held up for another two or three years, it would have been an 8.2, and there would have been a lot more damage.
From a bad thing, you can have a positive way of thinking.
What will come from the surveys of the earthquake?
In 1995, we learned a lot. That earthquake caused all these deaths, and buildings collapsed. The entire building code in Mexico changed after that. We learned which buildings were more susceptible and which locations were more susceptible.
We can’t tell where earthquakes will happen and what the magnitude will be. But as engineers, we can design in such ways as to minimize the damage.