Author(s)

S. Grasso & M. Maugeri

Abstract

The increasing importance attributed to microzonation derives from the spatial variability of ground motion due to particular local conditions, from landslides and ground liquefaction noticed during recent earthquakes and from the awareness that many towns run a high risk because of the geotechnical characteristics of the foundations of structures. The Mediterranean area is characterised by a medium-high level of seismic risk, so earthquakes are a major cause of the destruction of monuments, residential and industrial buildings. Among the effects on the stability of the physical environment, landslides and liquefaction represent the most significant factors of vulnerability of the physical environment itself. Landslides are particularly relevant because they can deeply modify the physical environment and consequently they represent an aggravation factor for the vulnerability of buildings resting on a potentially landsliding slope. Microzonation of slope stability is then preliminary to the evaluation of the vulnerability of buildings. Vulnerability of the physical environment, related to the presence of cavities and to seismic induced landslides and liquefaction, has been analysed with special reference to the new modelling of such phenomena and to the application of the models to given areas. This paper deals with the vulnerability of the physical environment (landslides, liquefaction etc.), while the road map continues with the analysis of the vulnerability of monuments and buildings, with the aim of the estimation of the seismic resistance required to defend against seismic action given by the scenario earthquakes. Keywords: road map, seismic geotechnical vulnerability, physical environment.

Keywords

road map, seismic geotechnical vulnerability, physical environment