Rapid visual screening procedure of existing building based on statistical analysis

Abstract

A statistical regression method was used to model the relationship between the outcome variable, e.g. different damage grade of existing building during an earthquake, and the explanatory variables concerning the building attributes that enhance the vulnerability of building during an earthquake. The analysis was performed by employing a building database of 396 damaged buildings surveyed after the 4th January Manipur earthquake of 2016. It is observed that the type of soil, apparent construction quality, maintenance condition, age of the buildings, substantial overhang and number of storey of the existing buildings are highly significant parameters in analyzing the vulnerability of the building during an earthquake. From the statistical analysis, a rapid visual screening procedure is proposed which can used as preliminary assessment technique for identifying vulnerable buildings in disaster risk reduction programme.