Abstract
A large amount of buildings was damaged or destroyed by the 2011 Great East Japan tsunami. Numerous field surveys were conducted in order to collect the tsunami inundation extents and building damage data in the affected areas. Therefore, this event provides us with one of the most complete data set among tsunami events in history. In this study, fragility functions are derived using data provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation of Japan, with more than 250,000 structures surveyed. The set of data has details on damage level, structural material, number of stories per building and location (town). This information is crucial to the understanding of the causes of building damage, as differences in structural characteristics and building location can be taken into account in the damage probability analysis. Using least squares regression, different sets of fragility curves are derived to demonstrate the influence of structural material, number of stories and coastal topography on building damage levels. The results show a better resistant performance of reinforced concrete and steel buildings over wood or masonry buildings. Also, buildings taller than two stories were confirmed to be much stronger than the buildings of one or two stories. The damage characteristic due to the coastal topography based on limited number of data in town locations is also shortly discussed here. At the same tsunami inundation depth, buildings along the Sanriku ria coast were much greater damaged than buildings from the plain coast in Sendai. The difference in damage states can be explained by the faster flow velocities in the ria coast at the same inundation depth. These findings are key to support better future building damage assessments, land use management and disaster planning.
Highlights
The East coast of Japan was extensively affected by the 2011 Great east Japan tsunami, with more than 400,000 buildings damaged or destroyed (National Police Agency 2011)
The results show a better resistant performance of reinforced concrete and steel buildings over wood or masonry buildings
The analysis aims to reflect potential differences in damage probabilities due to: (1) damage level only, (2) structural material, (3) number of stories and (4) coastal topography
Summary
The East coast of Japan was extensively affected by the 2011 Great east Japan tsunami, with more than 400,000 buildings damaged or destroyed (National Police Agency 2011). The influence of structural material and number of stories on the building resistance to tsunami inundation has been highlighted in a number of studies, such as Ruangrassamee et al (2006), Dominey-Howes and Papathoma (2007), Reese et al (2007, 2011), Arikawa (2009), Koshimura et al (2009b), Lukkunaprasit et al (2010), Matsutomi and Harada (2010), Murao and Nakazato (2010), Leone et al (2011), Suppasri et al (2011) and Valencia et al (2011). Different sets of fragility curves are derived to demonstrate the influence of structural material, number of stories and coastal topography on building damage levels
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
