Seismic Risk Mapping of Bridges Using HAZUS and ArcGIS: The Case of Surat City, India

Abstract

Earthquakes are one of the most common natural disasters resulting in loss of life and property. A method for reducing damage and fatalities is to evaluate the fragility, i.e., determining the degree of an earthquake susceptibility of a structure using structural analysis. Bridges are categorized as lifeline constructions, as they must be operational in the case of an earthquake. The closure of damaged bridges due to unsatisfactory working conditions might have an adverse impact on everyday traffic. The proposed research would look into the seismic danger that bridges represent located in Surat city of Gujarat. In this work, nonlinear static analysis has been used for investigation. The fragility function has been used to evaluate damage to bridges of varied spans, material quality based on Indian seismic provisions. This investigation can keep track of the possibility of specific damaging circumstances. Using the HAZUS approach, a probability damage assessment has been done. Using ArcGIS software, the likelihood, size, and severity of bridges in Surat have been evaluated. The distinction of present study lies in extending beyond the confines of the HAZUS technical manual, which primarily focuses on generating damage state probabilities for bridges. In this study, author moves a step further by applying this technique to a specific set of bridges, allowing to observe variations in damage state parameters across different bridge types. This approach enables easy comparisons between various bridges, aiding in the identification of specific risk factors and informing subsequent measures for risk mitigation.