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Inside the building electric cables, water lines and gas pipes should be fitted with devices that prevent breakage.
High buildings’ sprinklers and fire alarms can go off during an earthquake even if there is no fire. A dry pipe
sprinkler system is preferable in a seismic active zone. Dangerous chemicals in the conservation room should be
stored in special cupboards, which must be securely bolted to floors and walls (Cornu et al., 1991).
To prevent, or at least diminish, the earthquake effects several precautions can be taken in the storage room.
Shelving may collapse and the contents be thrown on to the floor. Few books can withstand such treatment. Fire and
water damage often result from seismic activity (B randt-Grau, 2000). The storage units should be anchored securely
to walls, floors and ceilings. Shelving units that are back-to-back should be bolted together. Back panels or Xbracing
will make the shelving units more stable. In compact or moving shelving the materials are not thrown to the
floor but people can be injured if the units move during a quake. An automatic aisle-locking device is the solution.
Boxes protect files and books and reduce physical damage if they fall from the shelf. They also prevent unbound
files from scattering over the floor. Drawers and doors of cabinets must be closed. Nylon webbing across the
openings of shelving units can catch objects in case they slide outwards during an earthquake. Heavy objects must
always be moved to lower shelves (Cornu et al., 1991; Fortson, 1992).
Relevant websites on earthquake disaster are the sites from CARDIN, CDERA, ADRC, USGS (United States
Geological Survey).
For publications on the effects of earthquakes on archival institutions see Ezennia, 1995; Lemmon, 1991 and
Ling, 1998. For buildings and earthquakes see AIA, 1992; California Seismic Safety Commission, 1992;
International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, 1992; Key, 1988; Kreimer, 1989; Norton, 1985;
Stulz et al., 1976. The coming ICOMO S (International Council on Monuments and Sites) -Proceedings of the
International conference on the seismic performance of traditional buildings. Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 16 – 18, 2000
promises to be very interesting too. Naeim edited a seismic design handbook and Shelton published seismic safety
standards for library shelving (Naeim, 1989; Shelton, 1990).
For general publications on earthquakes see Agbabian et al., 1990 and 1991; Anonymous, n.d. a; Erickson,
2001; Harris, 1990; Jones et al., 1982; Kumekpor et al., 1994; McCa nn et al., 1995; Pichard, 1984; Tilling, 1991.
6.3.5 Volcanoes
A volcano is a mountain or hill with an opening or vent from which volcanic materials such as lava, fragmented
rocks or gases are ejected during an eruption.
A recent count indicates that in the past 10,00 0 years 1511 volcanoes have erupted in about 60 countries.
Volcanoes are located in specific parts of the world, most of them being found on plate boundaries. Volcanoes are
formed in subduction zones, spreading zones and hotspots (Simpkin, 1994). Japan and Indonesia are the major areas
in the world of active volcanoes, followed by the USA. Since 1980, as many as five volcanoes have erupted each
year in the United States (FEMA website).
A volcanic eruption can directly or indirectly be the cause of all kinds of hazards (CDERA website):
• blasted projectiles. The p rojectiles can damage b uildings, sometimes being hot and starting fires.
• mud flows. Volcanic rock and debris can mix with lakes and form a near solid flow that swallows up everything
it encounters. Mudflows are also called lahars.
• pyroclastic flows and ashfalls. These flows are mixtures of hot gases, ashes, small fragments of rocks, and
pumice. They can move with a speed of more than 100 km/h and cause lung problems and skin burns. Buildings
can easily catch fire, and heavy ashes will damage a flat or low-pitched roof.
• gases. Gases can be harmful to the inhabitants.
• lava flows. Lava flows are very dangerous flows of extremely hot molten rock. They can destroy everything they
encounter.
• local earthquakes.
• tsunamis. Tsunamis is Japanese for tidal wave.
Many websites pay attention to volcanoes and current volcanic activity. The volcanologist François Beauducel, from
Guadeloupe published a bibliography on the Indonesian Merapi volcano and included links to specialised journals.
The sites of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that host several observatories such as the Hawaiian
Volcano Observatory and the Cascades Volcano Observatories are especially worthwhile. Also see the volcano
pages at the sites of the Michigan Technologic al University (Geological and Engineering Sciences), T he Electronic
Volcano hosted by Dartmouth College, the Volcano World, Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program, and CDERA.
In contrast to the amount of general literature on volcanoes no references could be found on preservation in
archives, museums or libraries, and volcanic hazards. For further reading see Chester, 1993; Erickson, 2001;
Gandru, 1997; Hall, 1991; Harris, 1990; McCann et al., 1995; Sigurdsson et al., 1999; Tazieff et al., 1990.
6.3.6 Floods
Of all the natural hazards capable of producing a disaster, a flood is by far the most common in causing loss of life,
human suffering, inconvenience and widespread damage to buildings, structures, crops and infrastructure
(Anonymous, n.d., b).
A flood is an abnormal rise of the water level of the sea or rivers lakes. Floodwater can be deceptively strong.
Fresh water moving at 4 mph (6,4 km/h), a brisk walking pace, exerts a force of about 66 pounds on each square
foot (29,7 kg / 0,3 m 2 ) on anything it encounters. D ouble the water speed to 8 mph (12 km/h) and the force rises to
about 264 pounds per square foot (119 kg / 0,3 m 2 ). That is enough force to force a car o r lift a truck off a flooded
road if water reaches door level (Disaster Relief, n.d.).
Floods can be caused by heavy rainfall e.g. after a cyclone, dam failures, storm surges and tsunamis. A flood
may be a natural phenomenon, but its effects are often exacerbated, perhaps even caused, by unwise activities. For
instance, people increase their susceptibility to flooding when they live in low-lying coastal areas, occupy gully
banks, live in the flood plain of major rivers or reside in the lower sections of closed limestone valleys. Such risks