Estimation of Potential Seismic Damage in Urban Areas

Synonyms

17 August Kocaeli (İzmit) earthquake; Damage probability matrices (DPM); Fragility curves; Masonry buildings; Reinforced concrete buildings; Seismic damage

Introduction

Large earthquakes are known to have significant damage potential in urban regions. Recently all over the world, efforts are made toward reduction of future probable damages. The first step in damage mitigation is the estimation of expected damage levels in buildings that are subjected to earthquakes with different intensities. Due to the inherent uncertainties involved in the analyses, estimation of seismic damage rates must be handled within a probabilistic framework.

To assess the damage rates under different shaking levels, “seismic damage” needs to be quantified and measured in a standard manner. The most common approach to quantify seismic damage rates is to perform fragility analyses. Fragility is defined as the probability of a system reaching a limit state as a function of seismic intensity levels...