Earthquake damage analysis of rural buildings in Hanzhong by the Wenchuan great earthquake

Masonry and rammed earth structures as primary architecture forms of rural buildings in Hanzhong were broken down by the 5.12 Wenchuan great earthquake.In order to improve the seismic per-formance of rural buildings and guide people to rebuild their houses better after that disaster,the earthquake damage charcteristics of rural masonry and rammed earth building in Hanzhong were analysed in the aspects of roof,floor,wall,staircase,and other members.Concerning the structure collapse and cracking,the primary cause leading to insufficient element strength and incapability of earthquake resistant construction was pro-posed.