Seismic hazard and vulnerability scenario of Kathmandu, Nepal, and adjacent region

摘要

The main objective of the current study is to estimate the seismic vulnerability of buildings in Kathmandu valley through fragility curves. Since the ground motion records are limited for the April 25, 2015, Nepal earthquake, a MATLAB code is written to generate the artificial ground motion records considering each mandal as a site location. Earlier written MATLAB code has been modified with a correction function to obtain synthetic accelerograms at each station. A spatial seismic hazard distribution is plotted through Geographical Information System (GIS) software. Seismic fragility curves are drawn to estimate the damage of buildings. From the results, it is observed that around 22 of buildings experienced an intensity of VI on the MMI scale at Bageswari mandal. A few buildings have experienced an intensity of VII in Thankot, Seuchatar, Satikhel, Mahadevathan, Indrayani, Chhaimale, and Balambu. Around 10 of buildings collapsed completely in Jitpurphedi and Ramkot mandals of Kathmandu district. The findings from the study will assist the structural engineers, town planners, insurance industry, disaster management authorities for understanding the seismic risk and mitigation measures for the study region.