• Home
• /
• UAE

New seismic code for high-rise buildings

All new tall buildings that will come up in Dubai will have to apply a new seismic code to ensure they are as strong as Burj Khalifa in withstanding tremors of up to 5.9 magnitude on the Richter scale.

As per the new code, buildings taller than 10 floors, including schools and hospitals, will now be classified in Zone 2B in which Dubai’s most prestigious buildings like Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab fall, according to a senior official from the Dubai Municipality. Such buildings are designed to resist tremors of up to a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale.

The existing code in the emirate is designed in such a way that all buildings have the capacity to withstand tremors of up to 5.2 on Richter scale - despite studies and estimates suggesting that it is much above the maximum tremor expected here.

Moawya Zafarini, the head of the structural engineering unit at the Buildings Department, said the municipality made the changes to increase the safety of all buildings in the emirate.

“Our existing code itself was very conservative and we are confident that all our buildings are very safe. Though studies on the gravitational acceleration have suggested a maximum of 4.3 magnitude here, the current code is designed to withstand up to 5.2 in Richter scale, which is almost 10 times more powerful. Now, we want to ensure that our upcoming buildings are even stronger.”

The amendment to the code comes in the wake of the recent earthquakes in Iran and Pakistan which were lightly felt in the country in April.

Zafarini said the Building Department has issued a new circular to all consulting offices and contractors operating in the emirate, stating that is necessary for engineers to increase the size of beams and columns used in construction, as well as using complex weight-bearing patterns with the iron rods.

“We are expecting a lot of new high-rise buildings to come up for design approval from the municipality including several ones in the Mohammed Bin Rashid City project, so we would like to see the new code implemented in such new projects,” Zafarini said.