task 6 - post-earthquake assessment management
Each earthquake represents a particular moment in the history of the affected region. It is an event from which it is necessary to withdraw as much knowledge as possible. The seismicity in Portugal reaches frequently high values in the south and has a known devastating historical seismicity, what makes it a country particularly affected by this kind of natural disasters.
It is fundamental after a densely constructed and populated area, as are historical city centres, is hit by an earthquake to have an organised and immediate response protocol. Following the earthquake, one of the first actions carried out by the responsible authorities is to deal with the survey of residential buildings, churches and other historical constructions in the damaged area, with the purpose of establishing their viability, as this procedure will reduce the number of homeless, and consequently, the number of shelters and emergency provisions. The experience along the years pointed out this necessity, of defining a systematic methodology to be applied under the usually chaotic emergency conditions created by an earthquake. This need grew throughout the years, especially after big earthquakes like the ones that occurred in Friuli (1976), Irpinia (1980) and more recently the Umbria-Marche earthquake (1997).
Therefore the development of a survey form, to be used in the post-earthquake emergency period is essential as a first approach to assess buildings, where all the information on damage and structural typology is collected. These survey sheets, intend to detect if during the ongoing seismic sequence, the damaged buildings can be re-occupied with the guarantee of structural safety and what short-term and long-term counter measures could be carried out to consolidate and preserve buildings to subsequent aftershocks and future seismic actions. In Portugal these survey forms do not exist and the National Authority of Civil Protection applauds and supports this initiative.
Additionally, it is stressed that the research team has a participated in reconnaissance missions and reports (North-ridge, California; Faial and Pico, Azores Islands; Aquila, Italy; Haiti, Caribbean, Lorca, Spain), therefore the field experience is guaranteed. The two research fellows and Tiago Ferreira are the most active in this task that is coordinated by Carlos Sousa Oliveira and Romeu Vicente (IR).
Expected results:
This is privileged opportunity to create survey strategy, based on other international experiences, a matured survey form for post-earthquake inspection procedures. Essentially two objectives will be fulfilled:
Each earthquake represents a particular moment in the history of the affected region. It is an event from which it is necessary to withdraw as much knowledge as possible. The seismicity in Portugal reaches frequently high values in the south and has a known devastating historical seismicity, what makes it a country particularly affected by this kind of natural disasters.
It is fundamental after a densely constructed and populated area, as are historical city centres, is hit by an earthquake to have an organised and immediate response protocol. Following the earthquake, one of the first actions carried out by the responsible authorities is to deal with the survey of residential buildings, churches and other historical constructions in the damaged area, with the purpose of establishing their viability, as this procedure will reduce the number of homeless, and consequently, the number of shelters and emergency provisions. The experience along the years pointed out this necessity, of defining a systematic methodology to be applied under the usually chaotic emergency conditions created by an earthquake. This need grew throughout the years, especially after big earthquakes like the ones that occurred in Friuli (1976), Irpinia (1980) and more recently the Umbria-Marche earthquake (1997).
Therefore the development of a survey form, to be used in the post-earthquake emergency period is essential as a first approach to assess buildings, where all the information on damage and structural typology is collected. These survey sheets, intend to detect if during the ongoing seismic sequence, the damaged buildings can be re-occupied with the guarantee of structural safety and what short-term and long-term counter measures could be carried out to consolidate and preserve buildings to subsequent aftershocks and future seismic actions. In Portugal these survey forms do not exist and the National Authority of Civil Protection applauds and supports this initiative.
Additionally, it is stressed that the research team has a participated in reconnaissance missions and reports (North-ridge, California; Faial and Pico, Azores Islands; Aquila, Italy; Haiti, Caribbean, Lorca, Spain), therefore the field experience is guaranteed. The two research fellows and Tiago Ferreira are the most active in this task that is coordinated by Carlos Sousa Oliveira and Romeu Vicente (IR).
Expected results:
This is privileged opportunity to create survey strategy, based on other international experiences, a matured survey form for post-earthquake inspection procedures. Essentially two objectives will be fulfilled:
- Creation of a survey form, divided into different sections, to asses masonry buildings, that will allow to survey principal building components (external masonry walls, floors, roofs, internal partition walls, staircases) and respective damage levels;
- The information gathered in the post-earthquake survey forms will be processed by another information sheet, to be created, that will construct first order indicators for economic loss, cultural loss and guide future interventions at the level of the building or aggregate (group of buildings).