Melbourne CBD Case Study: URM Retrofit Effectiveness in Avoiding Mass Casualties  


Authors / CoAuthors

Wehner, M. | Ryu, H. | Edwards, M. | Butt, S. | Juskevics, V. | Vaculik, J. | Mohanty, I. | Griffith, M. | Hewison, R. | Corby, N. | Allen, T.

Abstract

Earthquakes occur without warning and human mobility during strong shaking is difficult. This has implications for casualty outcomes from such rapid onset events. Unreinforced masonry (URM) in particular presents a great risk in the high pedestrian exposure precincts of major cities. Surveys of major Australian cities have indicated that almost half of the central business district (CBD) buildings by number are of older URM construction and have elements that could fall onto pedestrians in a major shake. With a focus on the greater CBD of Melbourne, this risk and mitigation options for it have been studied. In a case study undertaken as part of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC (BNHCRC), the casualties, damage and broader economic consequences of a major earthquake in central Melbourne have been modelled. This research directly utilised BNHCRC vulnerability research on URM by the authors and separate work by Geoscience Australia on modelling human exposure in a major business precinct. Through a virtual retrofit of the high risk URM buildings the benefits of retrofit were demonstrated. In particular, the prioritising of areas of high human exposure in a manner similar to that being used in New Zealand was found to achieve greater reductions of injuries. Abstract submitted to / presented at the 2022 Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (https://aees.org.au/aees-conference-2022/)

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document

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147279

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)  
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia

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Keywords

theme.ANZRC Fields of Research.rdf
  • EARTH SCIENCES
( Discipline )
  • earthquake
( Discipline )
  • risk
( Discipline )
  • business precincts
( Discipline )
  • casualties
( Discipline )
  • masonry
( Discipline )
  • retrofit
  • Published_External

Publication Date

2024-05-07T03:33:55

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

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underDevelopment

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Conference paper

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asNeeded

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geoscientificInformation

Series Information

Australian Earthquake Engineering Society (AEES) 24-25 November 2022, Mount Macedon, Vic

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Submitted paper for the 2022 AEES conference reporting on work undertaken by GA for the BNHCRC earthquake vulnerability project

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Extents

[-44.00, -9.00, 112.00, 154.00]

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Spatial Resolution

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