Rapid estimation of the seismic impact through the active contribution of the civil protection volunteers

Immediately after an earthquake, a rapid estimation of the seismic impact is crucial to carrying out a prompt and appropriate Civil Protection response. This is particularly important in districts characterized by frequent and moderate-to-high seismicity, as is the case in the north-eastern part of Italy. In this paper, the authors illustrate an innovative approach developed in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (in north-eastern Italy), based on the active contribution of Civil Protection volunteers. The methodology is based on the rapid and pre-codified communication of the earthquake effects, focusing on two main aspects: (i) the observed effects on people and buildings in the urban areas, and (ii) the structural and non-structural damage observed on pre-identified buildings. In particular, this paper illustrates the methodology and its integration into the seismic emergency plans of the municipalities in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and discusses the first test, which occurred during a full-scale exercise and on the occasion of recent minor earthquakes affecting the area. \ua9 2016-OGS

Migliorare la resilienza, la capacit\ue0 di un sistema di superare la crisi

Organizzazioni internazionali per la riduzione dei disastri stanno sempre pi\uf9 invocando la necessit\ue0 di un incremento della resilienza delle comunit\ue0 e delle organizzazioni. I disastri che seguono calamit\ue0 naturali, ma anche quelli collegati ad effetti negativi su aziende colpite da incendi o altri incidenti, hanno infatti portato ad un cambio di prospettiva nella gestione dei rischi, con il passaggio da un approccio statico e settoriale ad uno dinamico di tipo manageriale, pi\uf9 attento agli obiettivi e alla costruzione di abilit\ue0 e strumenti per affrontare le potenziali sollecitazioni esterne e acquisire la capacit\ue0 di gestione, di recupero e riequilibrio. In questo articolo il concetto di resilienza \ue8 inquadrato nell'ambito del ciclo del disaster management applicabile anche a piccole realt\ue0 o ad eventi incidentali limitati. Dopo aver analizzato le differenze tra i concetti di emergenza e crisi, si evidenza come un\u2019organizzazione resiliente sia un\u2019organizzazione capace di affrontare e risolvere soprattutto le crisi. Recenti esperienze hanno dimostrato come ci\uf2 sia possibile impiegando metodiche che consentono di sfruttare in modo opportuno anche l\u2019improvvisazione e la creativit\ue0

Can earthquakes trigger serious industrial accidents in Italy? Some considerations following the experiences of 2009 L'Aquila (Italy) and 2012 Emilia (Italy) earthquakes

The earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011, provoking the accident at the nuclear plant of Fukushima, highlighted, unequivocally, as strong seismic events can provoke major accidents. On the other hand the damage observed in recent earthquakes in Italy (L'Aquila, 2009 and Emilia, 2012) pointed out the high seismic vulnerability of industrial plants. This paper provides an analysis on the possibility that earthquakes can trigger serious industrial accidents (Na-Tech risk), referring in particular to the Italian territory, where many Seveso establishments are located. The results show a high risk and suggest that urgent preventative actions are needed. For this purpose, a change of the seismic safety paradigm, moving from the classical sectorial and reductionist approach to the holistic and interdisciplinary one, is required. \ua9 2014-OGS

Seismic site effects estimation from Probit analysis of the data of 1976 Friuli earthquake (NE of Italy)

After the earthquake of May 6, 1976 in Friuli (north-eastern Italy), a research team from the University of Udine (Italy) entered the data, compiled by specific technical groups immediately after the earthquake, on damage-inspection sheets, into a geolocated database. The database, named Fr.E.D. (Friuli Earthquake Damages), holds information on location, macroseismic intensity, construction typology and level of damage arising from the earthquake for each of the about 47,000 buildings. An "a posteriori" quantitative evaluation of local seismic response effects has been carried Out using a Probit analysis of the data. In particular, relative amplification factors for some different geomorphological scenarios have been estimated. \ua9 2009 - OGS