Pre-Earthquake Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) & Earthquake Safety Assessment of RCC and Masonry buildings located in Chandigarh Area (India)

Abstract

The northern part of India, situated along the Himalayan fault line, faces heightened earthquake risk due to the convergent boundary between the Indian and Eurasian Plates, resulting in frequent seismic activity and potential large earthquakes. Rapid urbanization of this region called for rampant construction and a quick seismic assessment of these buildings may save human sufferings and economic losses. Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) of buildings is such a method which can be used to quickly assess the seismic vulnerability of buildings based on their visual characteristics. In the work presented here, RVS of 179 reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and 120 masonry buildings located in the Chandigarh (India) region was carried out. It is found 102 (57.3%) are deemed unusable for earthquake safety, while 40 (22.5%) are tagged as yellow, indicating that they can be made usable through temporary interventions or seismic retrofitting techniques. Additionally, 36 (20.2%) buildings have been classified as green and are deemed safe for use. Moreover, among the 120 masonry buildings, 91 (75.8%) have received a red tag or are deemed unusable, 14 (11.7%) require temporary intervention, and 15 (12.5%) are usable. These findings are pivotal for making critical decisions, such as determining whether buildings require further investigation, retrofitting, or reconstruction. This risk and vulnerability assessment holds the potential to safeguard human lives and mitigate the economic losses stemming from future earthquake events. As only a few (12 to 20%) of the assessed buildings are found usable, urgent steps are needed for seismic intervention to prevent the occurrence of cascading disasters and damage thereof.