NEHRP (National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program) Recommended Seismic Provisions

Book excerpt: The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures is a well-known technical resource document for improving national seismic design standards and model building codes. Each edition of the NEHRP Provisions has been developed based on the most recent advancements in earthquake engineering and research. The 2020 NEHRP Provisions continues to apply the current state-of-knowledge in earthquake engineering for improving the seismic design of buildings and other structures. It presents a set of recommended improvements to the ASCE/SEI 7-16 Standard: Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures, and nine resource papers on new concepts, suggested future development, and technical information in support of the recommended improvements. The NEHRP Provisions is developed and evaluated through an expert-based consensus process to ensure validity and quality of the recommended new changes. It is intended primarily for use by national standards and code organizations and earthquake engineering professionals. The NEHRP Provisions is intended to support strong seismic standards and codes to bolster earthquake resilience in the nation. It has been widely recognized that code conforming new buildings increase earthquake resilience for at-risk communities. When adopting and enforcing the most recent national standards and model building codes for improving earthquake resilience, local communities expect the standards and codes to be updated and equipped with the best available new earthquake knowledge and matured technologies. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shares a responsibility with other NEHRP agencies under the NEHRP Reauthorization Act (P.L. 115-307) "to use research results ... support model codes that are cost effective and affordable in order to promote better practices within the design and construction industry and reduce losses from earthquakes." Consistent with this objective, FEMA is proud to support the development of the tenth editi on of the NEHRP Provisions, which has broadly reviewed and translated many recent NEHRP and private sector research results into codifiable seismic design requirements and guidelines. FEMA is grateful to the large number of experts serving on the 2020 Provisions Update Committee, Issue Teams, Project 17 Committee and its Work Groups, the member organizations of Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) of National Institute of Building Sciences, the BSSC Board of Direction and project managers, and NEHRP agency representatives whose dedicated and persistent efforts make the 2020 NEHRP Provisions a great success. Americans unfortunate enough to experience the earthquakes that will inevitably occur in this country in the future will owe much, perhaps even their very lives, to the contributions and dedication of these individuals for the seismic safety of buildings and other structures. Without the dedication and hard work of these men and women, this document and all it represents with respect to earthquake risk mitigation would not have been possible.