Learning from RC building structures damaged by the earthquake in Lorca, Spain, in 2011

• In 2011, one of the severest earthquakes suffered by Spain took place in Lorca.
• Most of the buildings in the city had reinforced concrete (RC) structures.
• This paper shows the lessons learnt from the Lorca earthquake.
• Almost all the damage sustained by RC structures took place in the columns.

In May 2011, the city of Lorca, in Spain, suffered an earthquake of magnitude Mw = 5.1. Even though the intensity was not particularly high, as the epicentre was only a few kilometres away from the city severe damage was caused to many buildings. The movements generated by the earthquake, together with the special characteristics of the reinforced concrete (RC) building structures in the region, gave rise to different types of structural damage, which are analysed and classified in this paper. After carrying out inspections on buildings in the town itself, a number of deficiencies responsible for the damage caused were detected in RC elements, as well as behavioural alterations caused by non-load-bearing walls. Variations in the local or general stiffness due to staircases, which are usually considered to be secondary elements, were another factor that played a role in the buildings' response. From the study we learned a number of lessons about what happened in Lorca and these should be borne in mind in the future when designing RC building structures in areas prone to earthquakes.