Eathquake engineering

This study examines the transverse displacement and rotation of a prestressed damped shear beam supported by a Vlasov foundation when subjected to a moving load traveling at a constant velocity. The governing equations are expressed as coupled second-order partial differential equations. To simplify these equations, the finite Fourier series method was employed, transforming the coupled second-order partial differential equations into a sequence of coupled second-order ordinary differential equations. Subsequently, the simplified equations that describe the motion of the beam-load system were solved using Laplace transformation in conjunction with convolution theory to obtain the solutions. The effects of some pertinent structural parameters on the transverse displacement and rotation of a prestressed shear beam when under the moving load were illustrated in graphs. Notably, the graphs indicate that an increase in these pertinent structural parameters reduces the transverse displacement and rotation of a prestressed shear beam when subjected to the moving load. From a practical standpoint, increase in the values of these structural parameters significantly enhances the stability of the beam and increases the critical speed of the dynamic system, thereby minimizing the risk of resonance and ensuring the safety of the structure's occupants.

The dynamic behaviour of damped shear beam resting on bi-parametric elastic foundation when traversed by moving load travelling at constant velocity is investigated in this present study. The beam-type structure has a uniform crosssectional area and it is assumed to be simply supported. The governing equations are coupled second order partial differential equations. The method of integral transformation called Finite Fourier series was first used to reduce the sets of coupled second order partial differential equations governing the motion of this class of dynamical problem to sequence of coupled second order ordinary differential equations. Thereafter, the simplified coupled equations describing the motion of the beam-load system were then solved by Laplace transformation in conjunction with convolution theory to obtain the solution. The closed form solution obtained was analyzed to obtain the conditions under which the beam-load system will experience resonance phenomenon and speeds at which this may occur are also established. The effects of pertinent structural parameters on the response of a damped shear beam when under the action of the moving load were presented in plotted curves. From the graphs, it is interestingly found that increase in the values of vital structural parameters, such as axial force 𝑁𝑓, circular frequency CF, foundation stiffness K and shear modulus G, reduces the transverse displacement of the damped shear beam when under the action of the moving load. Practically speaking, increase in the values of these structural parameters significantly enhances the stability of the beam and increases the critical speed of the dynamical system. Consequently, the resonance risk of the vibrating system is reduced and thus the safety of the occupant of this structural member is guaranteed.

Steel dampers are components used in building structures to reduce vibration and energy generated by dynamic loads such as earthquakes. Several factors affect the effectiveness of steel dampers in reducing energy, including the cross-sectional area, mass distribution, cross-sectional geometry, and material stiffness. The cross-sectional geometry or shape of the steel damper can affect how energy is absorbed and dissipated in the structural system. Cross sections with different geometric variations can have different mechanical responses to dynamic loads. This study aims to analyze which type of steel damper is effective in terms of stiffness and damping capacity against lateral cyclic loads. The steel damper cross-sectional variations used are slit steel dampers (SSDs), tapered steel dampers (TSDs), and oval steel dampers (OSDs). Cyclic testing of the dampers used displacement control with the same target deviation for all three damper types. The results showed that the stress and strain distributions of the oval steel damper were more even than those of the other two models. The variations in the energy dissipation capacities of the three cross-section variations are relatively the same. However, the slit steel damper type has the best stiffness compared to the other two types. This research is ultimately expected to influence the science of the structure of a building in preventing and anticipating earthquakes or other disasters.

Ultrasonic Testing (UT) and Metal Magnetic Memory (MMM) are proposed to quantify damage of hysteretic dampers (also known as metallic dampers) used as passive seismic control of building structures. Hysteretic dampers are special devices that are installed in a structure to dissipate most of the energy input by an earthquake through plastic deformations. Minor or moderate earthquakes do not exhaust the energy dissipation capacity of the dampers, though they cause damage. High-cycle fatigue problems can also arise when the damper is subjected to a large number of cycles of deformation in the elastic due to frequent loads such as wind. For these reasons, continuous or periodic inspection of the dampers is required in order to decide if they need to be replaced. Paper focus on a particular type of hysteretic damper that consists of plates made of stainless steel. These plates are intended to be used in conjunction with shape memory allows to develop a new brace-type damper with recente...

Iran is one of the countries which is always struck by quake and its location on Himalayan-Alpine belt has enhanced this condition such that in the previous century it has experienced more than 130 quakes with magnitude 7.5 in Richter scale. This phenomenon is not destructive in itself but lack of structures' tolerance against forces caused by quake devastates and ruins them for different reasons. Iran is one of the ten natural disaster-prone countries and it is known as the six th earthquake stricken country which causes high death toll. Based on this, urban security has great importance in this land. In this regard, this study has used a survey and analytical method based on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of Borojerd houses with the aim of identifying the amount of vulnerability using national statistics and random sampling. The results of this study indicated that seismic risk is high in Borojerd and confirmed low level of material resistance and high density of families in houses and lack of facilities and important services like hospitals, fire-fighting and rescue centers in critical situation.

This paper investigated the transient response of Timoshenko beams under moving loads in turbulent environments. The study incorporated the effects of shear deformation, rotary inertia, and dynamic aerodynamic forces caused by turbulence. The governing equations are derived from Timoshenko beam theory and coupled with an aerodynamic force model that accounts for mean and fluctuating wind velocities. A spectral representation of turbulent forces was employed to simulate realistic wind-induced forces. Numerical simulations were conducted using both the spectral element method (SEM) and the finite element method (FEM), enabling a comparison of their accuracy and computational efficiency. Results are presented for various load velocities and turbulence intensities, highlighting the advantages and limitations of each method. This study provided valuable insights into the dynamic behavior of beams in challenging environmental conditions, offering practical applications in civil, mechanical, and aerospace engineering.

This paper presents an analysis of shaking table tests on wrap-faced embankments situated on soft clay. The model embankment was placed in a laminar box mounted on a shaking table. The results from these tests were verified through numerical analysis. Different model tests were conducted with varying surcharge loads and acceleration levels. It was observed that the response of the embankment on soft clay was significantly influenced by the base acceleration levels and the magnitude of the surcharge pressure. Data from the Loma Prieta earthquake (1989) was utilized in this experiment. The effects of various parameters on the acceleration response at different elevations of the embankment and face deformations were also examined. The results indicate that the proposed wrap-faced embankment demonstrates significant resistance to earthquakes, particularly those similar to the Loma Prieta event, and provides an indicative performance measure of the wrap-faced embankment on soft clay soil.

El objetivo del presente trabajo es presentar de manera clara para el gremio de la Ingeniería Estructural en qué consiste la responsabilidad civil y cómo se configura dentro del quehacer del corresponsable de seguridad estructural, de cara a fomentar un mejor conocimiento jurídico de nuestro ejercicio profesional con la finalidad de estar conscientes de nuestros papel como los ojos de la Administración, representada por la Secretaría de Obras y Servicios a través del Instituto para la Seguridad de las Construcciones en la Ciudad de México, o bien por sus homólogos en los diferentes estados y municipios del país.

Untuk kebutuhan perencanaan ketahanan gempa struktur bangunan gedung, diperlukan parameter disain berupa percepatan puncak dan spektra disain di permukaan tanah. Untuk mendapatkan parameter tersebut diperlukan klasifikasi kelas situs, sehingga parameter gempa di permukaan dihasilkan dari percepatan di batuan dasar atau pada kelas situs B (SB) dikalikan dengan faktor koefisien situs. Klasifikasi kelas situs ditentukan oleh SNI 1726 : 2012 untuk lapisan tanah setebal 30 m dapat ditentukan berdasarkan nilai uji penetrasi standar (N), kecepatan rambat gelombang geser (s V) atau kuat geser niralir (u S). Mengingat umumnya uji penetrasi standar dilakukan di Indonesia, maka pada tulisan ini disampaikan evaluasi kelas situs berdasarkan data penetrasi standar hingga kedalaman 30 m yang dikumpulkan dari kegiatan microzonasi Jakarta yang dilakukan oleh kerjasama antara Badan Meterologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG), Pusat Litbang Pemukiman, Pemerintah DKI dan Institut Teknologi Bandung. Analisis awal menggunakan metode fungsi berbasis radial dengan fungsi spline Kernel pada data uji penetrasi standar di DKI Jakarta menunjukkan bahwa hampir keseluruhan area Jakarta Utara dan Jakarta Pusat masuk dalam kategori kelas situs E (tanah lunak) dengan nilai N <15, sedangkan beberapa bagian di Jakarta Barat, Timur dan Selatan terlihat area dengan nilai N >15 yang menunjukkan bahwa beberapa area di daerah tersebut masuk dalam kategori kelas situs D (tanah sedang).

This paper deals with a new seismic protection system for timber platform frame buildings, either for retrofit or for new construction. The system consists in connecting the timber frame to a steel framed structure that includes hysteretic energy dissipators designed to absorb most of the seismic input energy thus protecting the timber frame and the other steel members; alternatively, the system might contain other dissipative devices. The steel structure comprises horizontal beam-like elements, vertical columnlike elements and chevron-like bracing members; the beam-like elements are steel collectors (belts) embracing each slab of the building and the bracing members hold the energy dissipators. The steel structure is self-supporting, i.e. the timber frame is not affected by horizontal actions and can be designed without accounting for any seismic provision; in turn, the steel members do not participate in the main load-carrying system. The timber-steel interface has been designed to avoid any stress concentration in the transfer of horizontal forces and to guarantee that the yielding of the dissipators is prior to any timber failure. This research belongs to a wider project aiming to promote the structural and constructional use of timber by improving the seismic capacity of wooden buildings; this research includes experiments and advanced numerical simulation aiming to derive accurate design criteria.

The danger of earthquake always overshadows human societies and causes irreparable damage to these societies; therefore, preparedness to deal with this crisis by identifying vulnerability points and removing them is effective in reducing the damages caused by earthquake. Due to the location of Iran on one of the two world’s earthquake belts and the existence of many faults, the occurrence of earthquakes on the plateau of Iran is a natural phenomenon. Iran is one of the ten earthquake-prone countries in the world. Consequently, the city of Urmia is no exception to this rule due to its location in the hillsides of the Zagros Mountains and witnesses a large number of earthquakes with different intensities every year. Therefore, to deal with the above problem, we need more detailed studies in the fields of construction and safety. In this study, in order to evaluate the severity of earthquake vulnerability, effective parameters were identified and weighted using fuzzy hierarchical analy...

This paper demonstrates the evaluation of the energy dissipation capacity of a steel damper made from mild steel plates through performing a finite element analysis simulating cyclic loading. Results aimed to obtain the damper characteristics incorporated in retrofitting frames to increase their seismic resistance and energy dissipation. The analysis has well captured the damper energy dissipation capacity and the effective stiffness. Results showed that stresses were concentrated on the diaphragm plate since it is the weakest part of the damper and where the failure is expected to occur. Also, the diaphragm plate was the first segment of the damper to yield and enter the plastic ranges.

This paper deals with a new seismic protection system for timber platform frame buildings, either for retrofit or for new construction. The system consists in connecting the timber frame to a steel framed structure that includes hysteretic energy dissipators designed to absorb most of the seismic input energy thus protecting the timber frame and the other steel members; alternatively, the system might contain other dissipative devices. The steel structure comprises horizontal beam-like elements, vertical columnlike elements and chevron-like bracing members; the beam-like elements are steel collectors (belts) embracing each slab of the building and the bracing members hold the energy dissipators. The steel structure is self-supporting, i.e. the timber frame is not affected by horizontal actions and can be designed without accounting for any seismic provision; in turn, the steel members do not participate in the main load-carrying system. The timber-steel interface has been designed to avoid any stress concentration in the transfer of horizontal forces and to guarantee that the yielding of the dissipators is prior to any timber failure. This research belongs to a wider project aiming to promote the structural and constructional use of timber by improving the seismic capacity of wooden buildings; this research includes experiments and advanced numerical simulation aiming to derive accurate design criteria.

The structures, or Bridges and Buildings, as well as their components, must be built to withstand the prescribed wind loads. Wind load-resisting structures, including structural components, components, and cladding, must be designed to withstand shearing, sliding, overturning, and uplifting forces as a result of wind forces. Because wind loads are a component of rational loads, following a standard and tested building code can be used to provide this function. The Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and the Japan Road Association (JRA) were issued in 1993 and 1947, respectively, to fulfill this purpose in Bangladesh and Japan, respectively. Because of the way lateral loads are applied and handled in various codes, the antedated 1993 BNBC is replaced by a subsequent BNBC code that is commonly named the BNBC 2020, which was issued in Bangladesh in 2021. In this paper, the BNBC codes are studied and compared with each other and with JRA 2012, AASHTO 2012, AASHTO 2020, and ASCE 7-05. The investigation reveals that the percentages of the basic wind speed increase according to BNBC 1993 and BNBC 2020 significantly increased compared to the recent codes, but the investigation also reveals that the designed wind pressure in different exposures is slightly higher according to BNBC 1993 than BNBC 2020. Design wind pressure and applied wind load according to BNBC 2020 is equal to or higher than ASCE 7-05. Designed wind pressure is comparatively less and slightly higher for BNBC 2020 compared to AASHTO 2012 and AASHTO 2020. JRA 2012 has the greatest design wind pressure value for all the cases. The main purpose of the study will be to apply wind loads to bridge structures using BNBC, and then compare these results with those obtained using other codes as mentioned in BNBC. Because there is no specific guideline for the use of wind loads in BNBC.

Wrap Faced embankment is basically a sand embankment wrapped around by geotextile layers as a steep embankment. This wrap-faced embankment is filled with different characteristics of sand (example: sylhet and local sand which are available in Bangladesh). In this research, the wrap faced embankment is model by reduce scale in BUET Geotechnical Lab. The shaking table test machine was used to induce earthquake and wave action. The artificial recorded kobe 1995 and loma prieta 1989 earthquakes were used to conduct this research. The fifteen sensors have been placed in the wrap faced embankment and clay soil layer. The different soil characteristics like accelerations, displacement, pore water pressure and strain has been analyzed in this research. This embankment showed better response to the earthquakes and wave action means stable to seismic and wave action. The results of the research have also been verified by numerical analysis by PLAXIS 3D software. The variation of results is less than 15%. It was very challenging to find out the characteristics of such type of embankment on soft clay soil in Bangladesh during the earthquake and wave action. Without knowing the characteristics of the wrap faced embankment during the earthquake, it is impossible to build this type earthquake/ wave resisting embankment. The dynamic behavior of wrap faced embankment on soft soil in Bangladesh has been invented by the Hore's research. Now, it is possible to design and construction of earthquake/ wave resistance wrap faced embankment on soft Bangladeshi soil.

According to Eurocode 8, nonlinear time history analyses can be performed using a group of 7 ground motions, applied using only one angle of incidence (ASI). Under these conditions, the mean value of the response under consideration can be used to represent seismic demand. Since it is known that, the smaller the group of ground motions, the larger the variability of the seismic demand, the variability of selected demand parameters is studied considering the effect of the number of bi-directional ground motions and the number of ASIs. Groups of ground motions of size 7 to 35 are involved in this analysis, all applied along 1 to 12 ASIs. Two demand parameters are examined and their variability is analysed in terms of acceptable risk, where risk corresponds to the probability of having a demand parameter outside preselected acceptable margins, which are defined with respect to a reference demand value. The results indicate that different demand parameters are influenced differently by the ground motion group size and the number of ASIs. Finally, it is demonstrated that an optimum combination of number of ground motions and ASIs can be selected depending on the acceptable margin that is selected.

According to Eurocode 8, nonlinear time history analyses can be performed using a group of 7 ground motions, applied using only one angle of incidence (ASI). Under these conditions, the mean value of the response under consideration can be used to represent seismic demand. Since it is known that, the smaller the group of ground motions, the larger the variability of the seismic demand, the variability of selected demand parameters is studied considering the effect of the number of bi-directional ground motions and the number of ASIs. Groups of ground motions of size 7 to 35 are involved in this analysis, all applied along 1 to 12 ASIs. Two demand parameters are examined and their variability is analysed in terms of acceptable risk, where risk corresponds to the probability of having a demand parameter outside preselected acceptable margins, which are defined with respect to a reference demand value. The results indicate that different demand parameters are influenced differently by the ground motion group size and the number of ASIs. Finally, it is demonstrated that an optimum combination of number of ground motions and ASIs can be selected depending on the acceptable margin that is selected.

MASSIVE (mapping seismic vulnerability and risk of cities) is a GIS-based earthquake preparedness system that was developed under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism project (GA No. 070401/2009/540429/SUB/A4), in order to provide civil protection authorities with accurate, and easily transferable tools for generating up-to-date maps of seismic hazard, seismic vulnerability and seismic risk of buildings, at the scale of the single building block. In addition, MASSIVE developed and ran state-of-the-art models to assess the risk for population evacuation in dense urban agglomerations given an earthquake event. The MASSIVE methodology was designed, implemented and validated considering two European pilot sites, heavily struck by recent earthquakes, which are the western part of the Larger Metropolitan Area of Athens (GR), and the city of L' Aquila in the Abruzzo Region (IT). The validation of the results using past earthquake records shows that the performance of MASSIVE is prosperous, achieving a correlation between the modeled and the on-site measured PGAs (peak ground accelerations) higher than 0.75, while the correlation between the on-site reported building damages and the ones predicted by the MASSIVE system has been of the order of 0.80.

Energy dissipation is an innovative strategy for the passive protection of buildings and infrastructures against earthquakes. It entails installing special devices called dampers in a construction. They dissipate most of the energy input by an earthquake, thus keeping the main structure basically undamaged. Among the different types available, the so-called hysteretic dampers are commonly used to dissipate energy through plastic deformations in metallic parts of the device. Several moderate ground motions or even a single severe earthquake would not exhaust the capacity of the dampers, but they do cause damage-namely, plastic deformations in the device. Therefore, continuous or periodic inspections of the damper are required in order to decide upon its eventual replacement. The present work proposes Ultrasonic Testing (UT) as a method to quantify the damage upon hysteretic dampers subjected to cyclic loadings. To this end, several hysteretic dampers made of stainless steel were subjected to different patterns of quasi-static (low-frequency) cyclic loads that caused diverse levels of damage. Each damper underwent UT before and after the cyclic loading. UT parameters related to ultrasound waves including spectral amplitude and spectral energy were properly analyzed at each damage level. Based on these parameters, a UT damage index is put forth. The proposed UT index was then compared with a well-established mechanical damage index, ID, based on decomposing load-displacement curves into the skeleton part and Bauschinger part and computing the corresponding energies. A successful correlation was observed between the mechanical damage index ID and the novel UT index, making the UT technique promising for this particular application.

Due to building's high vulnerability and lack of necessary infrastructures for proper crisis management, the seismic hazards in these urban areas are too high. Also, in order to preparedness and risk reduction before earthquake occurrence, evaluation of vulnerability is necessary. A great earthquake causes numerous losses and damages due to locating the case study on the seismic zoning. The occurrence of natural events such as earthquake have devastating impacts on human life and caused severe losses, destroyed man-made structures and infrastructures that is followed by vast socioeconomic losses. Improper distribution of buildings, infrastructures, population and required facilities all over the city is an important reason for settlements and buildings vulnerability. Natural incidents such as earthquake cause life losses and numerous damages in various physical sites and population. In this research we have used analytic-descriptive method. Indeed we believe that we can reduce damages caused by earthquake through proper planning and designing, especially proper urban land usage. Here in order to studding the relation between land usage and urban areas vulnerability against earthquake hazards we have chosen a city called Semnan, collected necessary information, and in the following section would have surveyed ways to reduce damages caused by earthquake.

Peru, a region of high seismic activity. The foundation consists of a surface layer of moraines and residual soil, followed by a layer of argillite material whose resistance increases with depth. The argillite stratum is deeper near the left abutment, and it is important to estimate its influence on the seismic response of the tailings dam. A simplified method consists in the selection of a representative profile characterized by the distribution of the shear wave velocity with depth. For the analysis of the dam behaviour, two models were used: a simple model for 1D seismic response based on the propagation of vertical shear wave through a layered viscoelastic medium and a 2D numerical model based on the finite element method and specific constitutive relationships for the different soil types. Results for 1D and 2D analyses are quite similar, although the 2D analysis permits a better accuracy because it includes topographical effects due to geometry of foundation site.

The main objective of this research is to find the extent to which the minimal variability Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) model of seismic vulnerability assessment is sensitive to variation of optimism degree. There are a variety of models proposed for seismic vulnerability assessment. In order to examine the efficiency of seismic vulnerability assessment models, the stability of results could be analysed. Seismic vulnerability assessment is done to estimate the probable losses in the future earthquake. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods have been applied by a number of researchers to estimate the human, physical and financial losses in urban areas. The study area of this research is Tehran Metropolitan Area (TMA) which has more than eight million inhabitants. In addition, this paper assumes that North Tehran Fault (NTF) is activated and caused an earthquake in TMA. 1996 census data is used to extract the attribute values for six effective criteria in seismic vulnerability assessment. The results demonstrate that minimal variability OWA model of Seismic Loss Estimation (SLE) is more stable where the aggregated seismic vulnerability degree has a lower value. Moreover, minimal variability OWA is very sensitive to optimism degree in northern areas of Tehran. A number of statistical units in southern areas of the city also indicate considerable sensitivity to optimism degree due to numerous non-standard buildings. In addition, the change of seismic vulnerability degree caused by variation of optimism degree does not exceed 25% of the original value which means that the overall accuracy of the model is acceptable.

Studi ini dimaksudkan untuk memperoleh peta klasifikasi berdasarkan data bor dangkal (kedalam 30 m) dan peta kedalaman batuan dasar di Jakarta berdasarkan data interpretasi Microtremor array. Studi ini merupakan bagian dari penelitian mahasiswa S2, S3 dan program mikrozonasi Jakarta, dimana metodologi yang digunakan untuk analisis bawah permukaan meliputi: 1) review dan studi literatur mengenai kondisi geologi, 2) pengumpulan data-data bor sekunder dan pengambilan data mikrotremor array, 3) Pengolahan data mikrotremor dengan metode Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC), 4) Pemodelan struktur kecepatan gelombang-S 1D dan 2D 5) Pembuatan peta klasifikasi site dan kedalaman batuan dasar. Hasil dari studi ini berupa peta klasifikasi tanah dan peta kedalaman batuan dasar di lokasi penelitian yang akan digunakan sebagai data dan parameter dalam penyusunan peta mikrozonasi gempa, dimana peta mikrozonasi gempa ini diperlukan sebagai masukan dalam proses lanjutan kajian risiko bencana gempabumi aga...

Planning for post-disaster accessibility is essential in providing emergency and other services to protect life and property in the impacted areas in the aftermath of such events. Careful planning is especially critical in congested historic districts where narrow streets and at-risk structures are more common or prevail. One of the more common methods of measuring accessibility, the use of isochrones, may be particularly inappropriate in congested historic areas. Bucharest, Romania, is a city with such an older historic core of buildings and narrower streets. Furthermore, Bucharest ranks behind only Istanbul among large European cities in terms of seismic risk. The city experienced earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7.0 in 1940 and 1970. Both earthquakes had their epicenter in the Vrancea Mountains of central Romania and less than 200 kilometers from Bucharest. With a relative periodicity of 45 to 50 years for earthquakes of such magnitude, there is a clear need for earthquake h...

This paper proposes a new model in evaluating seismic microzonation of ground shaking by considering direct characteristics of influencing criteria and dealing with uncertainty of modelling through production of fuzzy membership functions for each criterion. The relevant criteria were explored by reviewing previous literature and interviewing 10 specialized experts. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Logic (FL) methods were applied in order to define priority rank of each criteria and to fuzzify sub-criteria of each criterion by interviewing 10 experts, respectively. Applying Fuzzy Logic method to deal with uncertainties of sub criteria of each criterion and using direct characteristics of each criterion are the new approaches in designing a new model. The criteria and sub-criteria were combined in GIS to develop a model for assessing microzonation of ground shaking in the study area of Bam city, Iran. The model's output shows high to very high ground shaking levels were happened in central, east, and northeast to north part of the area. The validation results based on overall accuracy and Kappa statistics showed 80% to 82% accuracy, 0.74 and 0.75 Kappa indicating a good fit to the model's output. This model assists planners and decision makers to produce seismic microzonation of ground shaking to be incorporated in designing new development plans of urban and rural areas, and to facilitate making informed decision regarding safety measures of existing buildings and infrastructures.

A clear understanding of the spatial distribution of earthquake events facilitates the prediction of seismicity and vulnerability among researchers in the social, physical, environmental, and demographic aspects. Generally, there are few studies on seismic risk assessment in United Arab Emirates (UAE) within the geographic information system (GIS) platform. Former researches and recent news events have demonstrated that the eastern part of the country experiences jolts of 3-5 magnitude, specifically near Fujairah city and surrounding towns. This study builds on previous research on the seismic hazard that extracted the eastern part of the UAE as the most hazard-prone zone. Therefore, this study develops an integrated analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and machine learning (ML) for risk mapping considering eight geospatial parameters—distance from shoreline, schools, hospitals, roads, residences, streams, confined area, and confined area slope. Experts’ opinions and literature rev...

Ultrasonic Testing (UT) and Metal Magnetic Memory (MMM) are proposed to quantify damage of hysteretic dampers (also known as metallic dampers) used as passive seismic control of building structures. Hysteretic dampers are special devices that are installed in a structure to dissipate most of the energy input by an earthquake through plastic deformations. Minor or moderate earthquakes do not exhaust the energy dissipation capacity of the dampers, though they cause damage. High-cycle fatigue problems can also arise when the damper is subjected to a large number of cycles of deformation in the elastic due to frequent loads such as wind. For these reasons, continuous or periodic inspection of the dampers is required in order to decide if they need to be replaced. Paper focus on a particular type of hysteretic damper that consists of plates made of stainless steel. These plates are intended to be used in conjunction with shape memory allows to develop a new brace-type damper with recente...

Iran is located in an area with high earthquake risk. There are over 20 active faults with length of 500 km and also densely populated parts of the country have been rendered vulnerable to strong earthquakes. However, existence of eight faults of the main faults of Iran along with at least 18 faults with length of more than 100 km in Kerman province have turned the place into one of the riskiest areas of the country. For this reason, this research tries spatial distribution of absorbing centers in Kerman population compared to the high risk of seismic zones of the city. The results show that the total population of absorbing centers in Kerman is 22.2% of the training centers, 34.5% of health care centers, 22.2% of administrative centers, 14% of business centers, and 18.9 % of sports centers which are located across the threat of severe and very severe degradation. In other words, among 973 absorbing centers of population, 190 centers in Kerman are located in zones with high and very...

Numerical studies were conducted to evaluate the behaviour of a hollow diamond shaped hysteretic steel plate damper under in-plane cyclic loading. The combine hardening material model based on Chaboche kinematic hardening rule and exponential isotropic hardening rule was proposed to trace the cyclic hardening behaviour of the steel damper. For engineering design purposes, simplified models based on bilinear and trilinear models were also presented. Numerical results showed that hysteretic curve obtained from Chaboche model and the simplified models correlate well with experimental results. Furthermore, the validity of the simplified models is verified through a comparison of its hysteretic energy dissipation with the actual test data. Hollow Diamond Shaped Hysteretic Steel Damper Geometrical Shape. Consider a steel plate made of a single steel plate with a constant thickness t. Both ends of the steel plate are assumed to be fixed to prevent rotation and to sustain shear force and bending moment, as illustrated in Fig.1. Assuming that the steel plate deforming in double curvature. When the yield moment is reached at both ends of the steel plate, the bending moment at any section can be expressed as follows:

The main issue in determining the seismic vulnerability is having a comprehensive view to all probable damages related to earthquake occurrence. Therefore, taking factors such as peak ground acceleration (PGA) in the time of earthquake occurrence, the type of structures, population distribution among different age groups, level of education, the physical distance to a hospitals (or medical care centers), etc. into account and categorized under four indicators of geotechnical, structural, social and physical distance to needed facilities and distance from dangerous ones will provide us with a better and more exact outcome. To this end in this paper using analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the amount of importance of criteria or alternatives are determined and using geographical information system (GIS), the vulnerability of Tehran metropolitan as a result of an earthquake, is studied. This study focuses on the fact that Tehran is surrounded by three active and major faults of the Mosh...

Earthquakes are one of the natural disasters that threaten many lives every year. It is important to estimate seismic damages in advance to be able to reduce future losses. However, seismic vulnerability assessment is a complicated problem, especially in areas with incomplete data, due to incorporated uncertainties. Therefore, it is important to use adequate methods that take into account and handle the associated uncertainties. Although different seismic vulnerability assessment methods at the urban scale have been proposed, the purpose of this research is to introduce a new Geospatial Information System GIS-based model using a modified integration of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), fuzzy sets theory, and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) in a vector-based environment. The proposed method emphasizes handling one of the important uncertainties in areas with incomplete data, namely the 'vagueness' of the existing knowledge about influences of the criteria on seismic vulnerability, which is handled using fuzzy sets theory in this research. The applicability of the proposed method is tested in a municipality district of Tabriz, which is in a near vicinity to the fault system. It can be concluded that the proposed method contributes to a pragmatic and efficient assessment of physical seismic vulnerability under uncertainty, which provides useful information for assisting planners in mitigation and preparation stages in less-studied areas.

This paper proposes a new model in evaluating seismic microzonation of ground shaking by considering direct characteristics of influencing criteria and dealing with uncertainty of modelling through production of fuzzy membership functions for each criterion. The relevant criteria were explored by reviewing previous literature and interviewing 10 specialized experts. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Logic (FL) methods were applied in order to define priority rank of each criteria and to fuzzify sub-criteria of each criterion by interviewing 10 experts, respectively. Applying Fuzzy Logic method to deal with uncertainties of sub criteria of each criterion and using direct characteristics of each criterion are the new approaches in designing a new model. The criteria and sub-criteria were combined in GIS to develop a model for assessing microzonation of ground shaking in the study area of Bam city, Iran. The model's output shows high to very high ground shaking levels were happened in central, east, and northeast to north part of the area. The validation results based on overall accuracy and Kappa statistics showed 80% to 82% accuracy, 0.74 and 0.75 Kappa indicating a good fit to the model's output. This model assists planners and decision makers to produce seismic microzonation of ground shaking to be incorporated in designing new development plans of urban and rural areas, and to facilitate making informed decision regarding safety measures of existing buildings and infrastructures.

A large part of the residential areas in Turkey are at risk for earthquakes. The main factors that threaten residential areas during an earthquake are poor quality building stock and soil problems. Liquefaction, loss of bearing capacity, amplification, slope failure, and landslide risks must be taken into account for residential areas that are close to the fault zones and covered with younger sediments. If these risks were separately analyzed and these analyses were combined, this would be more realistic than analyzing several hazard maps based a single parameter. In this study, an integrated seismic hazard map of central Eskişehir was created based on two earthquake related parameters, liquefaction, and amplification, by using a simple weighting method. Other earthquake-related problems such as loss of bearing capacity, landslides, and slope failures are not significant for Eskişehir because of the geologic and the topographic conditions of the region. According to the integrated seismic hazard map of the Eskişehir residential area, the area is found to be generally at medium-high risk during a potential earthquake.

Approaches used to assess shallow slides susceptibility at the basin scale are conceptually different depending on the use of empirically-based or physically-based methods. The former are sustained by the assumption that the same causes are more likely to produce the same effects, whereas the latter are based on the comparison between forces which tend to promote movement along the slope and the opposing forces that promote resistance to movement. Within this general framework, this work tests two hypotheses: (i) although conceptually and methodological distinct, the statistic and deterministic methods generate similar shallow slides susceptibility results regarding the model’s predictive capacity and spatial agreement; and (ii) the combination of shallow slides susceptibility maps obtained with empirically-based and physically-based methods, for the same study area, generate a more reliable susceptibility model for shallow slides occurrence. These hypotheses were tested in a small ...

Nowadays, urban areas are threatened by a number of natural hazards such as flood, landslide and earthquake. They can cause huge damages to buildings and human beings which necessitates disaster mitigation and preparation. One of the most important steps in disaster management is to understand all impacts and effects of disaster on urban facilities. Given that hospitals take care of vulnerable people reaction of hospital buildings against earthquake is vital. In this research, the vulnerability of hospital buildings against earthquake is analysed. The vulnerability of buildings is related to a number of criteria including age of building, number of floors, the quality of materials and intensity of the earthquake. Therefore, the problem of seismic vulnerability assessment is a multi-criteria assessment problem and multi criteria decision making methods can be used to address the problem. In this paper a group multi criteria decision making model is applied because using only one expe...

Planning for post-disaster accessibility is essential for the provision of emergency and other services to protect life and property in impacted areas. Such planning is particularly important in congested historic districts where narrow streets and at-risk structures are more common and may even prevail. Indeed, a standard 15 method of measuring accessibility, through the use of isochrones, may be particularly inappropriate in these congested historic areas. Bucharest, Romania, is a city with a core of historic buildings and narrow streets. Furthermore, Bucharest ranks second only to Istanbul among large European cities in terms of its seismic risk. This paper provides an accessibility simulation for central Bucharest using mapping and GIS technologies. It hypothesizes that all buildings in the Risk 1 class would collapse in an earthquake of a similar magnitude to 20 those of 1940 and 1977. The authors then simulate accessibility impacts in the historic center of Bucharest, such as the isolation of certain areas, and blockages of some street sections. In this simulation, accessibility will be substantially compromised by anticipated and extensive building collapse. Therefore, policy makers and planners need to fully understand and incorporate the serious implications of this compromised accessibility when planning emergency services and disaster recovery responses. 25 Armaș & Avram, 2008; Atanasiu & Toma, 2012). Their impacts demand a prompt response from decision 30 makers and the wider population, through the proper management of emergency situations (Waugh & Streib, 2006). Many areas of high seismic risk are urbanized and densely populated (Pollino et al., 2012; Vatseva et al., 2013). In addition, and coincidentally, many countries experiencing economic transitions are characterized by urban growth that is uncontrolled and, in large and medium-sized urban centers, such growth can be especially 35 chaotic (Salvati, 2014). Thus, an increase in the human and economic cost of such disasters can be reasonably anticipated. Furthermore, many new buildings, new structures and, sometimes, newer pieces of infrastructure frequently fail to comply with the construction regulations established for areas of differing seismic vulnerability, especially when there are strong pressures for rapid development. Finally, the characteristically long time lags between pairs of strong earthquakes (Schweier & Markus, 2009) can dull public awareness of the 40 potential impacts of such disasters, and render those in charge of emergency management complacent. Earthquakes require a specific disaster planning approach (Armaș, 2008; Boștenaru Dan & Armaș, 2015). This is because, unlike disasters that can be anticipated in the short term (such as storms), there is little or no delay between the occurrence of the earthquake and the subsequent loss of life and property damage. Therefore, emergency response activities must be executed very quickly and efficiently (Wegscheider et al., 2013). For 45 cities with a high earthquake risk, an important factor is public awareness of such events. This conditions the population towards the importance of quick response measures, which can help to reduce property damage and, more importantly, the number of casualties (Armaş & Avram, 2008). However, no matter how well organized the mitigation process, the disastrous effects of major earthquakes cannot be totally avoided (Momani & Salmi, 2012). 50 In recent years, seismic risk management has been more fully studied and developed so as to establish a series of priorities related to the rehabilitation of those buildings considered to be of major importance, including

The disasters can result in considerable damages to urban structures. In vulnerable cities, the amount of economic damages and fatalities is highlighted. The review of the literature indicates the urban vulnerabilities related to building qualification and the society situation. In this paper, some factors that can affect the vulnerability of old cities in Iran are listed. For evaluating the importance of each factor in identifying the vulnerability of Fahadan district, the AHP method is used. Twenty-five academic-related disaster management experts helped to achieve the priority of factors. Two vulnerability maps of the district were achieved by using the weight of factors obtained from the AHP model and geographic information system (GIS). Maps' analysis shows that places with high vulnerability cover all parts of the district, and residential parts of district suffer from susceptibility. Also, the results show that less vulnerable parts of the district surround the district. Reconstruction and rehabilitation measures can decrease the vulnerability value of Fahadan district.

Earthquakes are one of the natural disasters that threaten many lives every year. It is important to estimate seismic damages in advance to be able to reduce future losses. However, seismic vulnerability assessment is a complicated problem, especially in areas with incomplete data, due to incorporated uncertainties. Therefore, it is important to use adequate methods that take into account and handle the associated uncertainties. Although different seismic vulnerability assessment methods at the urban scale have been proposed, the purpose of this research is to introduce a new Geospatial Information System GIS-based model using a modified integration of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), fuzzy sets theory, and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) in a vector-based environment. The proposed method emphasizes handling one of the important uncertainties in areas with incomplete data, namely the 'vagueness' of the existing knowledge about influences of the criteria on seismic vulnerability, which is handled using fuzzy sets theory in this research. The applicability of the proposed method is tested in a municipality district of Tabriz, which is in a near vicinity to the fault system. It can be concluded that the proposed method contributes to a pragmatic and efficient assessment of physical seismic vulnerability under uncertainty, which provides useful information for assisting planners in mitigation and preparation stages in less-studied areas.

Planning for post-disaster accessibility is essential for the provision of emergency and other services to protect life and property in impacted areas. Such planning is particularly important in congested historic districts where narrow streets and at-risk structures are more common and may even prevail. Indeed, a standard 15 method of measuring accessibility, through the use of isochrones, may be particularly inappropriate in these congested historic areas. Bucharest, Romania, is a city with a core of historic buildings and narrow streets. Furthermore, Bucharest ranks second only to Istanbul among large European cities in terms of its seismic risk. This paper provides an accessibility simulation for central Bucharest using mapping and GIS technologies. It hypothesizes that all buildings in the Risk 1 class would collapse in an earthquake of a similar magnitude to 20 those of 1940 and 1977. The authors then simulate accessibility impacts in the historic center of Bucharest, such as the isolation of certain areas, and blockages of some street sections. In this simulation, accessibility will be substantially compromised by anticipated and extensive building collapse. Therefore, policy makers and planners need to fully understand and incorporate the serious implications of this compromised accessibility when planning emergency services and disaster recovery responses. 25 Armaș & Avram, 2008; Atanasiu & Toma, 2012). Their impacts demand a prompt response from decision 30 makers and the wider population, through the proper management of emergency situations (Waugh & Streib, 2006). Many areas of high seismic risk are urbanized and densely populated (Pollino et al., 2012; Vatseva et al., 2013). In addition, and coincidentally, many countries experiencing economic transitions are characterized by urban growth that is uncontrolled and, in large and medium-sized urban centers, such growth can be especially 35 chaotic (Salvati, 2014). Thus, an increase in the human and economic cost of such disasters can be reasonably anticipated. Furthermore, many new buildings, new structures and, sometimes, newer pieces of infrastructure frequently fail to comply with the construction regulations established for areas of differing seismic vulnerability, especially when there are strong pressures for rapid development. Finally, the characteristically long time lags between pairs of strong earthquakes (Schweier & Markus, 2009) can dull public awareness of the 40 potential impacts of such disasters, and render those in charge of emergency management complacent. Earthquakes require a specific disaster planning approach (Armaș, 2008; Boștenaru Dan & Armaș, 2015). This is because, unlike disasters that can be anticipated in the short term (such as storms), there is little or no delay between the occurrence of the earthquake and the subsequent loss of life and property damage. Therefore, emergency response activities must be executed very quickly and efficiently (Wegscheider et al., 2013). For 45 cities with a high earthquake risk, an important factor is public awareness of such events. This conditions the population towards the importance of quick response measures, which can help to reduce property damage and, more importantly, the number of casualties (Armaş & Avram, 2008). However, no matter how well organized the mitigation process, the disastrous effects of major earthquakes cannot be totally avoided (Momani & Salmi, 2012). 50 In recent years, seismic risk management has been more fully studied and developed so as to establish a series of priorities related to the rehabilitation of those buildings considered to be of major importance, including

Studi ini dimaksudkan untuk memperoleh peta klasifikasi berdasarkan data bor dangkal (kedalam 30 m) dan peta kedalaman batuan dasar di Jakarta berdasarkan data interpretasi Microtremor array. Studi ini merupakan bagian dari penelitian mahasiswa S2, S3 dan program mikrozonasi Jakarta, dimana metodologi yang digunakan untuk analisis bawah permukaan meliputi: 1) review dan studi literatur mengenai kondisi geologi, 2) pengumpulan data-data bor sekunder dan pengambilan data mikrotremor array, 3) Pengolahan data mikrotremor dengan metode Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC), 4) Pemodelan struktur kecepatan gelombang-S 1D dan 2D 5) Pembuatan peta klasifikasi site dan kedalaman batuan dasar. Hasil dari studi ini berupa peta klasifikasi tanah dan peta kedalaman batuan dasar di lokasi penelitian yang akan digunakan sebagai data dan parameter dalam penyusunan peta mikrozonasi gempa, dimana peta mikrozonasi gempa ini diperlukan sebagai masukan dalam proses lanjutan kajian risiko bencana gempabumi aga...

Shear wave velocity from the ground surface to a depth of 30 meters (Vs30) is a parameter to determine dynamic characteristics of the soil, which can be used to assess the level of seismic hazard. Thus, Vs30 mapping has an important role in seismic hazard mitigation efforts. Vs30 can be determined by Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) and Spatial Autocorrelation (SPAC) methods. A simpler alternative can be done by using Rayleigh wave ellipticity. The main objective of this research is to map Vs30 in the southern part of Kulon Progo using Rayleigh wave ellipticity inversion. In this study, Rayleigh wave ellipticity inversion was performed on 42 microtremor single measurement data, scattered in the southern part of Kulon Progo. The inversion results are used to estimate the value of Vs30 and classify the soil type at the measurement points, referring to SNI 1726:2012. A Vs30 distribution map and soil type classification are obtained by applying the geostatistical interpolation method. The mapping result showed that most of the southern part of Kulon Progo has a relatively low Vs30 value. These values are in the range of 180-342 m/s, which categorized as
stiff soil (SD). In this region, some parts located in the hilly and transition zones have relatively high shear wave velocities in the range of 357-578 m/s and included in the category of very dense soil/ soft rock (SC) types.

Definition of the earthquake includes parameters with respect to the region of interest. Many of those parameters also include uncertainties. Each of those parameters has different weights on the earthquake ground motion and effect. This study, examines the weight of broad parameters which are accepted all over the world. All of the parameters discussed with the professional judgement. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for factor weighting of each parameter and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used for simulating the results of the AHP on a spatial environment. AHP is a method that solves multi-criteria decision making problems involving objective as well as subjective criteria. Following four steps of AHP are used in this study. As the first step, the decision making problem is decomposed and the criteria, sub-criteria and alternatives of the problem are exposed. Then linear hierarchy is constructed consisting of a finite number of levels and elements. In step 2, pairwise comparison matrices of all criteria are constructed. In step 3, individual weights of the criteria are determined from the pairwise comparison matrices obtained by using the eigenvalue method. At the end of the process, whole set of weights are synthesized by using the principle of hierarchical composition and then overall or global weights for the alternatives are obtained as the fourth step. In this study, it is aimed to generate a hierarchical structure of the model for the simulation of an earthquake hazard map. The parameters of the earthquake hazard map are selected by the criterion of non-correlated factors. Selected parameters are topography, distance (type and quantity), soil classification, liquefaction, and fault mechanism. Following the selection of the parameters, a pairwise comparison matrix is formed by comparing the parameters each other. As a result of the study, weights of the parameters that affect the earthquake ground motion on a study area are determined based on the attenuation relations.

The proposed work describes research into the behavior of radon (VAR-volume activity of radon) excreted from the array. Radon migration and its selection from the array depends on the porosity, permeability and fractures in the array. A drastic change in the strength of an array and reset the elastic stresses by external forces (earthquake) 5 occurs when certain changes in the structure of the array as the compressive and tensile strength of the array.

Researchers have recently examined the geographic variability of the vulnerability of populations to earthquakes. These studies focus mainly on the complex modelling of geophysical processes or identification of socio-economically disadvantaged populations. However, no studies to date have integrated different components of vulnerability with metrics of travel distance to hospitals and trauma centres (systemic vulnerability). We argue that this previously unaccounted component is an important conceptual and practical aspect of earthquake vulnerability. Accordingly, this paper presents a multi-criteria model for combining physical, social, and systemic components, moving towards a more comprehensive assessment of vulnerability. An analytic hierarchy process is used to produce a place-specific index of social vulnerability, which we combine with soil liquefaction and amplification index and a road network model for access to hospitals and trauma services. Using a geographic information system, we implemented this model for the Greater Victoria region (483 km 2 , 2011 population: 345,000) in British Columbia, Canada. Clustering of total vulnerability was found in outlying areas, highlighting the importance of access to trauma centres. We conclude by identifying challenges in measuring earthquake vulnerability and advocate integration of systemic vulnerability components in natural hazards research.

The strong motion network of the National Institute for Research and Development in Construction, Urban Planning and Sustainable Territorial Development "URBAN-INCERC" was established in Romania in 1967. Its paramount utility for a seismic country was proved when the unique recording of March 4, 1977 earthquake was obtained in INCERC Bucharest station.
At present, the network consists of approximately 55 accelerometers, located in 45 localities in Romania. Of these, 11 accelerometers are located in Bucharest and 44 are distributed all over the country, particularly in the extra-Carpathian area, which is the most exposed to the Vrancea seismic source.
The goals of the network and of the pertaining infrastructure are manifold, aiming not only at ground motion recording, but also, in a larger perspective, at the improvement of the security and resilience of building stock to earthquakes and extreme actions. In this respect, a system for monitoring and displaying recorded ground motion data in real time is envisaged, in conjunction with data provided by SHM devices from instrumented buildings.
Recently, a plan for real-time transmission of the recorded seismic data was developed in collaboration with the Romanian Special Telecommunication Service. Accordingly, starting from November 15th, 2015, 32 seismic stations, of which 4 in Bucharest and 28 distributed throughout the country, were connected to real-time data transmission. This is provided both for stations located in free field-type conditions and for monitored building structures.
The goals for the near future are the extended integration and collaboration within major European infrastructures in the field, as the European Plate Observing System, EPOS. This implies further standardization of instrumentation and operational procedures, establishment of permanent communication channels for data exchange, upgrading of obsolete equipment, increasing the number of real-time stations and of seismic stations in general and development of the communication, IT and software infrastructure.

In recent years, the use of seismic energy dissipation devices for passive control of both new and existing buildings has increased exponentially. However, these devices developed for structures in high seismic regions cannot be determined to be effective in the structures in regions of low-to-moderate seismicity, such as Korea. When an energy dissipation device is applied to the structures in Korea, it may not be necessary the ultimate energy dissipation capacity required in the strong earthquake regions. This paper experimentally investigates a new type of steel damper, based on the yielding of cantilever type steel plates for seismic protection of building structures. To increase the energy dissipation of the device, the optimized geometry of a steel plate was firstly developed. The hysteretic behavior and energy dissipation capacity were then investigated, via component tests under cyclic loads. The experimental results indicated that the damping device has stable restoring force characteristics, and a high energy dissipation capacity. In addition, the load-displacement curve of the device was predicted, based on the theoretical formulae and test results.

Devastating earthquakes in Iran as an earthquake prone country have often resulted in enormous environmental, economical and cultural heritage damage, loss of life and threats to health. Experiences from the past disasters put a great emphasis on relief and rescue operations. Yazd is an ancient city in Iran which has several historical districts with a very old fabric that's absolutely unsafe against earthquakes. Fahadan district is the oldest and the most significant district in Yazd city with unique urban texture and famous historical buildings. In this paper it has been attempted to determine and prioritize the most important factors influencing rescue operations in old regions such as Fahadan district. Distance to rescue centers, roads width, distance to open areas, buildings quality, population density and buildings age were determined as the research criteria. Geographic information systems (GIS) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) have been combined to evaluate the capability of rescue operations in the district and to illustrate its most difficult locations to perform relief and rescue services. Finally some approaches as retrofitting and rehabilitation of the old buildings, destroying the abandoned buildings, distributing first aid kits among the local residents, training citizens and performing earthquake maneuvers were suggested to enhance the safety of Fahadan district and to improve the rescue operations capability.

Tehran, capital of Iran has several known and unknown active faults hence huge earthquake will permeates human settlement there. However, more than the disaster it is the inefficient and inadequate infrastructure in the aftermath of earthquake which causes huge loss of life and property. There are substantial problems with availability of, and accessibility to reliable, up-to-date, and accurate geospatial data. The need for such data is significant if one is to successfully react to and manage a disaster situation. The data required might include aspects such as the availability of resources, road access, and required disaster response operations; crucial for informed decision-making and disaster management. Thus, there is a need for the development and implementation of appropriate frameworks and utilization of technologies to alleviate the current lack of capacity to respond to disasters. This paper focuses on the use of spatial data infrastructure and Geospatial information system to achieve better outcomes from spatial decision-making for site selection of rescue centers. The usage of the spatial decision support system provides the advantages of emphasis on the regions which need more attention. Among the successful models, in this paper multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) based on a location model is used.