Probabilistic Seismic Vulnerability and Loss Assessment of the Buildings in Mexico City

Abstract

This article presents a seismic vulnerability and risk assessment of buildings in Mexico City. A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) was carried out, which allowed the definition of seismic hazard curves as well as uniform hazard spectra (UHS) for several seismic zones. The seismic hazard includes the effects of all seismic sources located in an influence area with a radius of 500 km. Attenuation relationships were selected with basis in attenuation models of events affecting the areas of Central Mexico and were complemented by our own functions that include local soil effects. Already established the sources and attenuation functions, the seismic hazard is quantified throughout UHS, which calculated using a return period Tr = 100 years. For the vulnerability assessment, fragility curves were defined. Two groups of fragility curves were studied, the first for the first for buildings built before 1985, and the second for buildings built after 1985. In the first case, static nonlinear analyzes of selected buildings were performed to define the capacity spectra. In the second case, the capacity spectra were defined from design spectra of the Mexico City Building Code. The results showed a very good correlation with the seismic demands of the 2017 earthquake.