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The May 11th 2011, Lorca earthquake in Southeastern Spain was a moderate magnitude event (Mw 5.1) yet it caused nine fatalities, more than 300 injuries and more than 462 million euros in economic loses. Peak ground accelerations as well as response spectral ordinates far exceed expected values from various ground motion prediction models. In particular, spectral ordinates computed from recorded ground motions significantly exceed those in current Spanish probabilistic seismic hazard models, as well as those in the Spanish and European building codes. The objective of this paper is to assess directivity effects on ground motions recorded during the 2011 Lorca earthquake, and to evaluate the significance of these effects in earthquake resistant design on moderate seismic regions. In the first part of this paper, we study the likelihood of the presence of a directivity pulse, by conducting a comparison of different parameters of recorded ground motions to analytical pulses. In the second part, we relate the recorded ground motion and its inelastic displacement spectra to some recent statistical models that try to capture the displacement demand features of earthquakes presenting directivity-pulse characteristics. It is shown that simple analytical pulses are capable of reproducing very well pulse-type near-fault ground motions recorded during the event. It is concluded that directivity effects played a major role in the large impact caused by this relatively small event. Furthermore, directivity effects which are typically ignored, both in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis and in most building codes, may lead to important underestimations of ground motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a modification of the empirical method for seismic vulnerability assessment of reinforced concrete buildings in urban areas. In the RISK-UE LM1 framework, the values of the behaviour modifiers related to: (i) the level of seismic code design; (ii) the number of storeys above ground; and (iii) the structural joint between adjoining buildings, have been modified according to an analysis of the actual seismic performance of buildings and a review of the currently available models, providing continuity to the progress of the previous works published to date. The new model has been applied to the city of Lorca, Spain following the damage data from the earthquake of May 11, 2011. Less dispersion between actual observed and estimated damage in buildings is presented in comparison with the previous studies, with a statistical significance level of 5%, thus achieving a more accurate evaluation of seismic risk based on the typological, structural and urban parameters of the buildings. Nevertheless, future work to further improve these modifiers is necessary in order to achieve a better adjustment between the estimated and observed damage. By using GIS techniques, the proposal can also be used to develop the planning and management of post-earthquake emergency situations, allowing for a better definition of several damage scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  A probabilistic seismic hazard assessment of the Province of Murcia in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral accelerations [SA(T)] is presented in this paper. In contrast to most of the previous studies in the region, which were performed for PGA making use of intensity-to-PGA relationships, hazard is here calculated in terms of magnitude and using European spectral ground-motion models. Moreover, we have considered the most important faults in the region as specific seismic sources, and also comprehensively reviewed the earthquake catalogue. Hazard calculations are performed following the Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) methodology using a logic tree, which accounts for three different seismic source zonings and three different ground-motion models. Hazard maps in terms of PGA and SA(0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 s) and coefficient of variation (COV) for the 475-year return period are shown. Subsequent analysis is focused on three sites of the province, namely, the cities of Murcia, Lorca and Cartagena, which are important industrial and tourism centres. Results at these sites have been analysed to evaluate the influence of the different input options. The most important factor affecting the results is the choice of the attenuation relationship, whereas the influence of the selected seismic source zonings appears strongly site dependant. Finally, we have performed an analysis of source contribution to hazard at each of these cities to provide preliminary guidance in devising specific risk scenarios. We have found that local source zones control the hazard for PGA and SA(T ≤ 1.0 s), although contribution from specific fault sources and long-distance north Algerian sources becomes significant from SA(0.5 s) onwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]