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This paper presents an analytical method for large-scale vulnerability assessment used in order to simulate damage scenarios corresponding to those observed during past earthquakes in Italy. The method, already published in the technical literature with the acronym SP-BELA (Simplified Pushover-Based Earthquake Loss Assessment), has been adopted to calculate the vulnerability of the Italian building stock classified as reinforced concrete and masonry buildings. The current paper describes the calibration of the method through the comparison of numerically calculated damage scenarios and data on observed damage collected during earthquakes occurred in Italy starting from the 1976 Friuli earthquake. The use of observed damage data allowed to validate the method and to add reliability to the calculation of damage scenarios. The damage scenarios are useful to plan the emergency response immediately after an earthquake. Finally, a Web Geographical Interface System tool that implements SP-BELA to calculate seismic risk and real time damage scenario is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the numerical calibration of a speedy procedure for large scale seismic vulnerability assessment of masonry building aggregates, which are typical building compounds diffused within historical centres of many Italian towns. First of all, based on several numerical analyses developed with the 3MURI calculation program, this simplified assessment procedure has been implemented, it being derived from the well known vulnerability form for masonry buildings integrated by five parameters accounting for the aggregate conditions among adjacent units. Later on, the set-up procedure has been validated through an application to a single building aggregate in the Vesuvius area. Since the results previously achieved have been again confirmed, subsequently the procedure has been used to investigate a wide area of the historical centre of Torre del Greco, allowing for the knowledge of the buildings most at risk under earthquake. Finally, the methodology has been applied to the historical centre of Poggio Picenze (AQ), damaged by the recent Italian earthquake (2009), in order to prove its effectiveness to foresee the damage level experienced by other types of masonry aggregates under seismic actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]