Seismic risk analysis at urban scale in italy

Seismic risk maps are a useful tool researchers use for representing to stakeholder and decision makers the adverse outcomes a seismic event can have over the territory. Generally, in those studies, urban areas, where the human activities are concentrated, focuses major attention. Main concerns are about the existing building stock, mostly composed by structures not compliant with modern seismic design criteria. The production of a seismic risk map is a complex task that involves the combination of data coming from different field of expertise. The aim of the study is to show how the already available information can be combined together in a Geographical Information System (GIS) tool. The results provide a reliable representation of the seismic risk at urban scale to be used when planning the mitigation measures to be undertaken in order to improve the level of preparedness in case of an earthquake. The analysis has been applied for demonstration purposes to the town of Cassino, Central Italy.