A Method for the Definition of Emergency Rescue Routes Based on the Out-of-Plane Seismic Collapse of Masonry Infills in Reinforced-Concrete-Framed Buildings

Abstract

One of the main goals of disaster management planning is to ensure the effectiveness of the emergency measures when a hazard occurs. This happens only if the decision-makers use operational tools considering the structural characteristics of urban systems. Starting from these assumptions, the authors proposed an emergency management method based on the integrated work between two different scientific sectors, the urban planning and construction engineering sectors. The proposed method aims to evaluate the practicability of the strategic road network, as well as defining the emergency rescue routes based on the out-of-plane (OOP) seismic collapse of masonry infills (MIs) in reinforced concrete (RC)-framed buildings. The OOP failure of MIs is predicted according to an innovative MI macro-model. The authors test the method on a geographic area in the municipality of Gioia Tauro (Reggio Calabria, Italy). The results show that due to the collapse of MIs, the functionality of the strategic road network in emergency conditions can be compromised, causing losses of the urban systems’ performance. Based on the obtained results, the authors recommend that decision-makers use the proposed methodology to identify the vulnerable rescue paths and to locate the strategic infrastructure while spending the financial resources in a more effective way.