Design basis earthquake (DBE)

The earthquake which the structure is required to safely withstand with repairable damage. Those systems and components important to safety must remain functional and/or operable. For design purposes, the intended use of this earthquake loading is for economic design of structures or components whose damage or failure would not lead to catastrophic loss. For most usage in Reclamation, the DBE is defined to have a 90% probability of nonoccurrence in a 50-year-exposure period, which is equivalent to a recurrence interval of 474 years. Economic considerations for specific projects may lead to consideration of other values.