Comparison of Instrumental and Felt Intensity
Peak ground acceleration provides a measurement of instrumental intensity, that is, ground shaking recorded by seismic instruments. Other intensity scales measure felt intensity, based on eyewitness reports, felt shaking, and observed damage. There is correlation between these scales, but not always absolute agreement since experiences and damage can be affected by many other factors, including the quality of earthquake engineering.
Generally speaking,
- 0.001 g (0.01 m/s²) – perceptible by people
- 0.02 g (0.2 m/s²) – people lose their balance
- 0.50 g – very high; well-designed buildings can survive if the duration is short.
Read more about this topic: Peak Ground Acceleration
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