Are skyscrapers safe and fully prepared for natural disasters and accidents such as earthquakes, wind, and fire?

Despite their high cost and technological demands, skyscrapers are gaining attention for their economic value and as a viable alternative to overcrowding. However, their safety against various hazards, such as earthquakes, wind, and fire, has been questioned, and advanced technologies and designs are constantly evolving to overcome these challenges.

 

A skyscraper is a building that is more than 200 meters tall or 50 stories. Currently, skyscrapers are being built around the world. Skyscrapers are expensive and time-consuming to build. However, many countries are building them not only because they are high-value real estate, but also because they can be a representative tourist destination. Especially in large cities, where land is limited, skyscrapers are seen as the most realistic alternative to accommodate a larger population. However, aside from the economic value of skyscrapers, many people have questions about the safety of these massive structures.
These questions are reinforced by disaster movies that feature skyscrapers. For example, movies about fires and structural collapses caused by airplane crashes play on people’s fears, and many of these safety debates are ongoing. While there are many factors that must be considered to keep a skyscraper safe, there are three that are particularly important. These are how they will withstand earthquakes, wind, and fire.
All buildings are designed to withstand earthquakes when they are built. For skyscrapers, it’s even more important to prepare for earthquakes. Earthquakes are unpredictable natural disasters, so the seismic performance of a structure is essential. For example, the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, was constructed using ultra-high-strength concrete with a strength of 80 MPa. That’s enough strength to support 10 adult men weighing 70 kilograms with concrete the size of a die, and it has the ability to withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The core wall, the core structure of a skyscraper, acts as the spine of the building during an earthquake, and by using such a strong material, the impact of an earthquake is effectively distributed.
In addition to earthquakes, another challenge that skyscrapers face is wind. Tall buildings are affected more by horizontal vibrations from wind than by seismic loads. The strength of the wind varies depending on the steady state of the atmosphere, but in general, wind strength increases with increasing altitude. Wind load, the pressure caused by wind, is proportional to the square of the wind speed, so the increase in wind load grows exponentially with height. For example, if you compare a 30-meter-tall building to a 90-meter-tall building, the difference in height is three times, but the effect of the wind is increased by a factor of nine. For this reason, tall buildings need a flexible design to withstand strong winds. This is done by designing the building to respond flexibly to the wind, allowing it to absorb wind pressure and minimize vibration. The main technology used is the damper. Dampers are devices that absorb vibration energy to increase the stability of a building, usually in the form of large weights or water in a tank. When a building is tilted by the wind, the dampers move in the opposite direction to balance the building.
While skyscrapers can be somewhat prepared for natural phenomena such as earthquakes and wind, the risk of fire remains a major challenge. Fire prevention and early response are crucial, especially in high-rise buildings, as evacuation can be difficult in the event of a fire. As such, a variety of safety features and designs are essential to minimize damage in the event of a fire. For example, high-rise buildings use highly fire-resistant materials to buy time to evacuate in the event of a fire. Most buildings use ultra-high-strength concrete, which can withstand exposure to high temperatures for more than three hours, or fire-resistant cladding technology to increase resistance to fire. Fireproof cladding is the use of fire-resistant bricks, fire-resistant mortar, and metal alloys to protect the structure of a building, and is designed to withstand high temperatures of 1200°C to 1800°C for extended periods of time.
In addition, many countries require skyscrapers to have an evacuation safety zone every 30 floors. These zones play an important role in helping people evacuate in the event of a fire, and they are also required to have dedicated evacuation elevators so that large numbers of people can evacuate at the same time. But these design elements are not enough. Skyscrapers need to be regularly inspected for safety every year, and emergency evacuation drills should be conducted to ensure that they can respond effectively in the event of a real fire.
As you can see, there are many factors that must be taken into account to ensure the safety of a high-rise building, including earthquakes, wind, and fire. However, there are many other factors to consider when designing a skyscraper. For example, research and development is constantly being conducted on the energy efficiency and environmental impact of buildings, as well as on how to dismantle them. Another important issue is how to clean and maintain the high-rise windows of a skyscraper. These issues are important not just to maintain the appearance of the building, but also because they are related to the structural stability of the building. After all, buildings are public goods that are used by a large number of people, and even a single accident can cause great loss of life, so they need to be designed to take all possibilities into account.
So, while concerns about the safety of skyscrapers are understandable to a certain extent, they have been largely allayed thanks to a number of technological advances and thorough safety management. Skyscrapers are not just tall buildings, they are structures that symbolize cutting-edge technology and human endeavor, and the possibilities for their future development are endless.