You CAN Keep Your Family Safe In

Future Earthquakes and Typhoons

For masonry construction, follow these 7 tips to make your
house safer in earthquakes and more resistant to typhoons.

2
1

3 4 5
1.
Build a hipped roof or
a lightweight gable.
6
Masonry gables are heavy
and can collapse in an
7 earthquake.

2. 3.
Connect the roof Connect the building
strongly to the ring using a ring beam on top
beam with straps or of walls, a plinth beam at
brackets, or else it the foundation, and tie
could blow away in a columns between them.
typhoon!

4. 5.
Overlap rebar by Connect beams and
at least 40 rebar columns together by
diameters; short continuing rebar
overlaps and hooks through the joints.
are not strong! Use rebar stirrups with
rotated hooks around
column and beam rebar.

6. 7.
Use strong blocks. Connect the walls to
If the blocks break the columns with rebar
when dropped, find dowels or masonry
another seller that toothing. Build the walls
makes stronger blocks. before pouring the
Wet the blocks before columns and ring beam.
adding to the wall and
add plaster to the walls.

Shelter Cluster Philippines Build earthquake resistant houses

ShelterCluster.org Change construction practice permanently
Coordinating Humanitarian Shelter buildchange.org
 You CAN Keep Your Family Safe In
Future Earthquakes and Typhoons
3

1 2

5
For wood construction, follow these 7 tips
to make your house safer in earthquakes
6
and more resistant to typhoons.
7

1. 2.
Connect all wood framing Use diagonal wind
members strongly to each bracing between trusses.
other to improve typhoon
resistance. Nails are cheap!

3. 4.
Truss members should be Connect the roof strongly
connected with straps to the walls with straps or
or gusset plates to have brackets.
strength in strong winds.

5. 6.
Anchor the posts to
Use diagonal bracing to foundations with post
strengthen column-beam brackets.
connections.

7.
Foundations must be
deep and/or heavy to
counteract the uplift force
of the wind.

Shelter Cluster Philippines Build earthquake resistant houses

ShelterCluster.org Change construction practice permanently
Coordinating Humanitarian Shelter buildchange.org