Volume 2, Number 4, December 2004

OOMORI BRIDGE DAMAGED BY TYPHOON NO.18
The Oomori Bridge was constructed in 1985, it is 429 m long, and is on the western coastline ofHokkaido. The superstructures of the bridge are 3-span, 1-hinged PC rigid frame and 2 or 3-spancontinuous PC I-shaped girder.
On September 8, 2004, typhoon No.18 struck Hokkaido. The Oomori Bridge suffered serious
damage from storm surge. Two PC girders with total length of 159 m were washed away. Pier No.3
was destroyed and inclined by about 30 cm at the top.
Temporary restoration has been performed. The permanent restoration will be made by theHokkaido Regional Development Bureau.
Contact: Dr. Hiroaki Nishi, Civil Engineering Research Institute of Hokkaido, h-nishi@ceri.go.jp

September 8
9 a.m.

Hokkaido

Oomori Bridge

Typhoon Track
Figure 1. Track of typhoon No.18 and the Location ofOomori Bridge

Figure 2. Washout of Four Spans of Oomori Bridge

JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY EARTHQUAKE CATALOGIS BEING REVISED
An earthquake catalog provides an important resource to study seismology and earthquake
engineering. The earthquake catalog published by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) covers
the period from 1923 to the present. This document may be the most comprehensive catalogue inthe world among regional catalogs of instrumentally located earthquakes. Figure 3 below shows
the predominant aftershock activity of the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake (M6.8) as a typicalearthquake data included in the JMA Earthquake catalog. The catalogue is being updated and it
will be made available to persons requesting a copy.
Contact: Dr. Nobuo Hamada, Director, Seismological and Volcanological Research Department,
Meteorological Research Institute, nhamada@mri-jma.go.jp.

Figure 3. Earthquake Data of 2004 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake (M6.8)

20TH US-JAPAN BRIDGE ENGINEERING WORKSHOPThe 20th US-Japan Bridge Engineering Workshop was conducted during 4-6 October 2004,Arlington, Virginia. This workshop is a continuation of an annual series of technical interchanges
between US and Japan engineers on topics related to bridge engineering. The workshop focusedon advanced seismic design and retrofit and accelerated construction. Twenty-four of the 51
registrants were from Japan; twenty-seven from the US. The workshop included 42 presentations
and two breakout sessions with one on seismic design and material and the other on construction
and maintenance.
Following the workshop, technical site visits included New York City and New Jersey. The
delegation visited East River bridges in New York City and the new Victory Bridge over the Raritan
River, New Jersey. Discussions focused on seismic retrofit and design concepts and maintenanceprocedures.
The Workshop steering committee included Phil Yen, FHWA (US side Chair), Hiroshi Sato, PWRI
(Japan Side Chair), David Sanders, and Masahiro Ishida. Funding for the US side was provided bythe Federal Highway Administration through a grant to the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake
Engineering Research and a contract to the University of Nevada, Reno. Workshop proceedings
will be published and will be made available by contacting Professor Sanders.
Contact. Professor David H. Sanders, Organizer, 20th US-Japan; Associate Professor of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, sanders@unr.edu

Figure 4. Bridge Workshop Participants