Abstract

SULCA-HUAMAN, Jhunior  and  DELGADILLO, Rick M.. Evaluation of the seismic risk of buildings through vulnerability functions in Ayacucho City - Peru. Tecnia [online]. 2022, vol.32, n.2, pp.21-35. ISSN 0375-7765.  http://dx.doi.org/10.21754/tecnia.v32i2.1377.

Peru is one of the most exposed countries to catastrophic events worldwide, such as floods, debris flows, earthquakes and tsunamis. Particularly, earthquakes are generated by the interaction of the Nazca and South American plates, known as subduction process, and from shallow faults. Likewise, another big problem that Peru is going through is the informality in construction, which, added to a big earthquake, could bring with it great economic losses and human lives. Therefore, these problems have motivated the development of this research, which aims to evaluate the seismic risk of buildings in Ayacucho city - Peru. In this sense, the probabilistic seismic hazard is evaluated using R-CRISIS program, accompanied by geophysical studies like MASW (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves) that allow characterizing the ground from shear wave velocities. In addition, the seismic vulnerability of buildings is evaluated using the vulnerability index method, which is based on eleven essential parameters that characterize the susceptibility of buildings to suffer damage after the occurrence of an earthquake. Finally, the seismic risk assessment is carried out through the use of vulnerability functions and the results reflected in representative maps for different seismic scenarios, which is prepared using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Results show that great economic losses and human lives could be expected from different seismic scenarios in Ayacucho city. Besides, more than 50% of the buildings could suffer strong or severe damage during the occurrence of a rare earthquake whose return period is 475 years.

Keywords : Seismic hazard; vulnerability; seismic risk; earthquake; Ayacucho.

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