What scientific information on non-structural elements seismic risk people need to know? Part 1: Compiling an inventory on damage to non-structural elements

• Published in: Annals of Geophysics
• Main Authors: Ferreira, Monica, Meroni, Fabrizio, Azzaro, Raffaele, Musacchio, Gemma, Rupakhety, Rajesh, Bessason, Bjarni, Thorvaldsdottir, Solveig, Lopes, Mário, Oliveira, Carlos Sousa, Solarino, Stefano
• Other Authors: Instituto Superior Técnico, CERIS, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione Milano, Milano, Italia, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione OE, Catania, Italia, Earthquake Engineering Research Centre, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iceland, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione ONT, Roma, Italia
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) 2021
• Subjects: non-structural elements; most frequent damage; Mt Etna; 1969 and 1998 earthquakes Portugal; 2000 earthquake Iceland; 05.08. Risk; Etna; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2122/14966; https://doi.org/10.4401/ag-8412

Understanding seismic damages to non-structural elements and their effects on functionality of facilities are important in developing general recommendations for earthquake risk management. This paper presents a review of non-structural damage caused by recent earthquakes in Mt. Etna in Italy, Lisbon and Azores islands in Portugal and southern Lowland in Iceland. The study was performed as a part of the KnowRISK EU project. The objective of this review is to identify the most commonly damaged non-structural elements in these different areas. This is a basic requirement for preparing prevention strategies communication campaigns that are tailored to the local needs. This study shows that the most commonly damaged elements are partition walls, ceiling systems, non-structural vaults, chimneys, building contents and storage racks. Analyses proved that substantive efforts are needed worldwide to improve techniques for reducing damage to non-structural elements. The observations on frequency, severity, and consequences of damage of different non-structural elements are important for (i) making mitigation plans and priorities (ii) designing mitigation measures, and (iii) communicating the mitigation measures to different stakeholders. These activities aim to raise stakeholders’ awareness of potential risk and viable mitigation measures. KnowRISK is co-financed by European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Grant agreement ECHO/SUB/2015/718655/PREV28. It is a project that involved four different European research centers and universities under the coordination of the Instituto Superior Técnico (Portugal). The partners are the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Italy), the Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (Portugal) and the Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (University of Iceland). We acknowledge Antonio Torrisi, Department of Civil Protection of Sicily (DPCR) – Unit of Seismic and Volcanic Risk S.03, for having provided data from AeDES forms. Rajesh Rupakhety acknowledges ...