A generalized method for evaluating immediate post-earthquake losses of buildings from different perspectives

Abstract

The evaluation of immediate post-earthquake losses of buildings is crucial for advancing resilience-based seismic design. To facilitate the development of resilient buildings, a generalized method suitable for any occupancy type of building is proposed to evaluate immediate post-earthquake losses of buildings from engineering, economic, and social perspectives. A functional composition diagram of the building story is constructed, and the story functionality is quantified by using the hierarchical belief rule base inference method based on the evidential reasoning algorithm. The functional composition diagram incorporates the service status of utility systems, such as power, water, communication, heating, and drainage networks, to reflect their impact on the story functionality. Intra-story damage relevance and inter-story functionality relevance of the building are also considered in the functional loss evaluation. To evaluate direct economic loss, two methods for calculating the repair cost ratio are proposed. The choice of method hinges on the level of detail available. Direct social loss is quantified in terms of the casualty ratio, with considerations for the varying impacts of different casualty severity levels on society. Applying this generalized method to a teaching building, the results show that the functional loss is more severe compared to the direct economic and social losses. From the perspective of resilience-based seismic design, it is essential to focus on mitigating functional losses of buildings. This method can provide guidance for pre-earthquake strengthening efforts and post-earthquake recovery strategies for buildings and contribute to advancing resilience-based seismic design.