Assessment of the Seismic Vulnerability of Transportation Infrastructure in Central Oklahoma

Abstract

The State of Oklahoma, long considered geologically stable with little to no detected seismicity, has become seismically active in recent years. In 2014 the rate of occurrence of earthquakes with magnitudes Mw 3 and greater in Oklahoma exceeded that in California. The damaging Mw 5.7 record earthquake occurred near Prague Oklahoma in November 2011 with swarms of aftershocks including two Mw 5.0 earthquakes. The unexpected sharp increase in seismicity over a broad region of central Oklahoma has raised concerns regarding its potential hazard to local communities and civil infrastructure systems. This paper uses the HAZUS-MH earthquake module developed by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to generate three scenario earthquakes at Mw 5.0, Mw6.0, and Mw7.0 and investigate the impacts of the seismic activities on transportation infrastructure systems in Oklahoma City area. The seismic hazard and the likelihood of various states of damage to the transportation infrastructure are assessed and evaluated, and direct and indirect losses resulting from this damage estimated. The simulation results could aid decision makers in identifying the most critical and vulnerable transportation assets so that mitigation strategies can be developed to minimize the negative impacts of seismic activities on public safety, property loss, and state economic development.