The
frequent and subsequent earthquakes in Bhutan and around the Himalayan Thrust
significantly damaged masonry structures in Bhutan, particularly in rural
regions. Potential harms are likely to hit the nation if a similar or higher
earthquake occurs within or peripheral.
The masonry houses scattered across the country towards the rural region
are vulnerable. The damage is likely to happen almost all across the districts
when there is an earthquake. The past
2009 and 2011 earthquakes also showed similar patterns of damage all
over the country. They mostly failed in shear and out-of-plane (Fig. 1) in
different severity. This study applies the simplified method for seismic
diagnosis of a masonry structure and investigates the effect
of seismic bands by carrying out numerical analyses. We aim to mitigate earthquake disasters in Bhutan's
rural regions and save the community there, and the methods discussed here will
also meet the financial requirements.
Keywords: Earthquake, Masonry, Seismic hazard, Economic, Disaster, Rural, Vulnerable, Culture