Climate Related Business Continuity Model for Critical Infrastructures

Climate change is more and more nowadays acknowledged to be associated with the natural hazards for which the society, and its Critical Infrastructures, need to anticipate and plan. The impact the climate-related hazards have to the functionality of different Critical Infrastructures (CI) is being discussed, focusing on the minimization of the disruption time of their critical services. This is achieved by means of a Business Continuity plan that is based on Business Impact Analysis and Risk Assessment of projected weather-related hazards. Business continuity planning is essential part of the resilience framework of the CIs, which EU-CIRCLE project proposes with regards to climate change. Guidelines are presented in order to provide a planned and controlled method for anticipating and responding to events that are likely to interrupt key business activities (Business Continuity Model) and suggestions upon adaptation of CIs to climate change are also given. For this purpose, information was collected from CI operators with regards to existing BC plans and adaptation measurements, by means of questionnaires, which is also presented herein.</p

Validation and improvement of Risk-UE LM2 capacity curves for URM buildings with stiff floors and RC shear walls buildings

This paper addresses seismic vulnerability assessment at an urban scale and more specifically the capacity curves involved for building damage prediction. Standard capacity curves are a function of predefined building typology and are proposed in the Risk-UE LM2 method for computation of the corresponding damage grades. However, these capacity curves have been mainly developed for building stock of southern European cities and the accuracy of their application with different building features, such as the ones of cities of northern Europe should be assessed. A recent research project of seismic scenarios for the cities of Sion and Martigny in Switzerland provided the opportunity to check the capacity curves of Risk-UE LM2 method. Within the framework of this project, a detailed analysis was achieved for more than 500 buildings. These buildings were typical Swiss buildings and were composed of both unreinforced masonry buildings with stiff floors and reinforced concrete buildings. The construction drawings of each building were collected in order to have the most accurate information about their main structural characteristics. The typological classification that has been adopted was developed in a recent research project. Based on the individual features of the buildings, individual capacity curves were defined. Results of the seismic assessment applied to the 500 buildings compare very well with those obtained by using Risk-UE LM2 method for unreinforced masonry buildings with stiff floors. A slight improvement may be proposed for buildings with three stories through their introduction to the category of low-rise instead of mid-rise buildings. By contrast, accuracy for reinforced concrete buildings with shear walls is very poor. Damage prediction using related capacity curves of Risk-UE LM2 method does not correspond to reality. Prediction is too pessimistic and moreover damage grades increase with the height category (low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise) of these buildings which is in contradiction with the observed damages for this type of buildings. Improvements are proposed to increase the accuracy of the seismic vulnerability assessment for northern European building stock. For unreinforced masonry buildings, a slight modification of the limits of the height category of buildings using the ones defined for RC buildings improves the damage prediction. For reinforced concrete buildings with shear walls improved capacity curves derived from the typological curves of the specific typology C are proposed

Hybrid reconnaissance mission to the 30 October 2020 Aegean sea earthquake and tsunami (Izmir, Turkey & Samos, Greece): description of data collection methods and damage

On 30 October 2020, an earthquake of Mw 6.9 hit the Aegean coasts of Turkey and Greece. The epicentre was some 14 km northeast of Avlakia on Samos Island, and 25 km southwest of Seferihisar, Turkey, triggering also a tsunami. The event has been followed by >4,000 aftershocks up to Mw 5.2 The Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) has immediately gathered a team to conduct a hybrid reconnaissance study,bringing together remote and field investigation techniques. The mission took place between 16 November and 17 December, inclusive of three sets of field study carried out by the field crews for building damage assessment in the affected areas in Turkey and Greece under the coordination of the remote team. The mission also aimed to assess the viability of alternative data sources for an appraisal of the future viability of hybrid missions. This paper summarises the mission setup and findings, and discusses the benefits of and difficulties encountered during this hybrid reconnaissance activity

Seismic risk assessment as part of the National Risk Assessment for the Republic of Cyprus: from probabilistic to scenario-based approach

Seismic risk assessment for Cyprus at national scale is based on event-based probabilistic seismic risk analysis and eventual selection of seismic scenarios for given return periods. The current study was included in the National Risk Assessment of Cyprus, for 2018, following the European Commission requirements and guidelines. The latter analysis is performed with the relevant algorithm of Open Quake engine, which first incorporates stochastic event-based hazard analysis for extended earthquake catalogues and models of the area, as developed in the ESHM13 model developed in the SHARE project. The exposure model employed is built and elaborated by local resources, and the vulnerability model developed for local building typologies, as included in past publications, was used, with additional considerations. Risk is expressed in terms of monetary loss, at national level and for the biggest urban areas, and is provided in aggregated values as well as distributed along the island with map representation. For the selected scenarios, with 475- and 2500-year return period, expected casualties and displaced population are also estimated

Seismic risk assessment as a basic tool for emergency planning: “Paces” EU project

The main steps of the seismic risk assessment as essential tool of the risk management process are presented, highlighting the need of its standardization for the development of emergency plans by the civil protection authorities. Some of the available seismic risk assessment methods and outcomes are illustrated and demonstrated through a seismic scenario application for Heraklion city, capital of Crete in Greece. The scenario application is part of the European Project “PACES” (Preparedness for Appropriate Accommodation in Emergency Shelters), funded by DG-ECHO, which aims to improve preparedness for accommodation of evacuees after an earthquake in emergency shelters, based on realistic seismic scenarios. Different earthquake scenarios have been simulated based on local seismic hazard, reference to one of which is made herein. Semi-empirical methodology for the assessment of the structural vulnerability of the exposed assets has been applied, as well as published loss models for the evaluation of monetary and human losses. The risk maps will enable updating of existing earthquake emergency plans, and allow the mapping of possible locations for shelters and engraving of evacuation routes, as illustrated by the pilot study of Heraklion city. Moreover, possible areas for mass evacuation can be identified, and health-care, as well as the response capacities of other local and governmental agencies, will be assessed accordingly. Finally, future challenges for the evolution of the preparedness policy by means of the risk assessment are discussed

The FIRE-IN project: Tsunami-risk related practitioner challenges and 3rd cycle overall results [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]

This article summarizes the methodology for the identification of practitioners’ challenges of the H2020 funded project FIRE-IN (Fire and Rescue Innovation Network) activities with a strong focus on the natural hazard mitigation working group and tsunamis in the Mediterranean region as a case study for the 3rd cycle. The scenario of a tsunami occurrence in the Mediterranean is the basis for the FIRE-IN 3rd cycle workshop, as an indicative example of a high impact – low probability event, which aims to identify the Future Common Capability Challenges of practitioners in Europe. The current status of the tsunami hazard in Europe, national and international tsunami risk mitigation measures and procedures and operational experience from recent events are also discussed. Focus is provided on the natural hazard mitigation and tsunami related practitioners’ challenges, while results from the FIRE-IN request for ideas process and the interaction between practitioners, researchers and industry is also discussed. The aim is to present the current and future capability challenges of practitioners, one of the main outcomes of FIRE-IN project, and to provide further guidelines to stakeholders of disaster management towards a safer Europe, mainly, through preparedness for stronger and resilient societies

Traditional Structures in Turkey and Greece in 30 October 2020 Aegean Sea Earthquake: Field Observations and Empirical Fragility Assessment

On 30th October 2020, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 hit the Aegean coasts of Turkey and Greece. The epicentre was some 14 km northeast of Avlakia settlement on Samos Island, and 25 km southwest of Turkish town Seferihisar, Izmir. The destruction the earthquake caused concentrated mainly on the mid-rise RC buildings in certain districts of Izmir city. Among the diverse building typologies affected by the event are the traditional/vernacular hybrid timber-masonry and masonry buildings that are common to Turkey and Greece. This paper summarises and discusses the damage levels and mechanisms observed in these types of buildings, based on an extensive field and remote reconnaissance survey in the affected areas in both countries conducted by the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) of the United Kingdom Institute of Structural Engineers (IStructE). The observed damage is then discussed in light of the level of maintenance and occupancy status. The collected data are also used to empirically construct fragility curves, to assess whether a small sample can be used to describe the overall performance of the buildings in the area and how these compare to the outcomes of previous studies on comparable building stocks.</jats:p