A seismic risk model for Italy

Abstract

All Italian territory, with the only exception of the island of Sardinia, is subject to seismic events, making this threat a major concern for decision makers in charge for the implementation of risk reduction policies. Seismic risk vary greatly across the country and within single administrative regions. Seismic risk maps at national scale are therefore a useful tool for representing the expected adverse outcomes due to the seismic events and for programming the appropriate mitigation measures. The production of those maps 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 national 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.