Seismic Hazard Assessment by the Application of a Synthetic Damage-Constrained Parameter

Seismic Microzonation (MS) can be defined as a multidisciplinary process aimed at identifying and mapping the subsoil local response and the instability phenomena in an area. In Italy, the Department of Civil Protection provided national guidelines and standards in order to ensure the homogeneity of the products. According to the Italian guidelines, three levels of detail can be considered (I, II and III) with increasing complexity. The paper deals with the 3rd level seismic microzonation (MS3) for an area located in the east part of Sicily (Italy). The main aim of MS3 studies is to draw Seismic Microzonation Maps using Amplification Factors (AFj), i.e. synthetic indicators representative of the seismic amplification. However, AFj are non-dimensional parameters. Therefore, the use of these synthetic indicators provides seismic hazard maps in terms of relative values, not allowing a direct comparison of seismic hazards between different areas. In light of this, a new methodology was applied in order to develop probabilistic seismic hazard maps by means of a synthetic damage-constrained parameter that provides an absolute ranking of seismic hazard. The produced maps are very important tools that allow the definition of attention zones in order to assist engineers and planners in preventing and limiting seismic risk and prioritizing interventions.