Earthquake Disaster Loss Research Articles

Seismic risk assessment based on residential building stock and field survey results: a case study of 3 cities in Shanxi Province

IntroductionBuildings that collapse or are damaged by earthquakes are responsible for the majority of earthquake-related casualties. High-precision building data are the key to improving the accuracy of risk assessments of earthquake disaster loss. Many countries and regions have also proposed varying regional building exposure models, but most of these models are still based on administrative-level (city or county) statistical data; furthermore, they cannot accurately reflect the differences among buildings in different towns or villages.MethodsAlthough field investigation-based “township to township” methods can obtain more accurate building inventory data, considering costs and timeliness, remote sensing and other diverse data should be combined to acquire building data. Based on the field survey data of three cities in shanxi Province, combined with Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) data, this study is conducted on building inventory data. Data regarding the proportion of each building type and corresponding lethality level in each township are obtained based on the classification of building height, and the overall lethality level at the building level and township level is calculated on this basis.ResultsThe fitting results between the calculated results and the field survey results are good, the error is within 0.15, and the fitting R2 values of Xian, Baoji and Ankang are 0.6552, 0.5788 and 0.5937, respectively. Therefore, an earthquake disaster loss risk assessment is conducted based on the building level.DiscussionThe findings indicate that the risk of casualties caused by the same building type can vary by city. Generally, the areas with high disaster loss risk in the three cities are distributed mainly in urban areas; the disaster loss risk in the newly built areas of each city is relatively low. According to the quantitative assessment results for each city, Xi’an has the highest loss risk, while Baoji and Ankang have the same loss risk. Based on the method constructed in this paper, we can realize the quantitative assessment of earthquake disaster loss risk at the building level to better target pre-earthquake emergency preparation and post-earthquake auxiliary decision-making.

A Comprehensive Overview of the Nine Major Tax Deductions and Exemptions for Earthquake Disaster Losses

A Comprehensive Overview of the Nine Major Tax Deductions and Exemptions for Earthquake Disaster Losses

Identifying the potential development of HAZUS model as an earthquake disaster loss model for school buildings in Indonesia

Located in a complex tectonic zone, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes, which cause considerable damages to houses and buildings and lead to significant economic losses. One of the most significant damages to public facilities is the destruction of school buildings. In addition to hazard factor, poor building structure in most of Indonesia’s school buildings have contributed to increased earthquake disaster losses as a vulnerability component. To reduce disaster losses, quantifying earthquake disaster losses was conducted as an initial process. In practice, Indonesian government and Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) calculate disaster losses at the time of post-disaster using various methods. Such calculation method is generally time-consuming, which may impeded the disaster response process. Thus, pre-disaster disaster losses quantification method could be a solution to this problem, which have not been developed and widely applied in Indonesia. HAZUS model is used for estimating earthquake disaster losses in the pre-disaster phase and has been widely used based on the building performance developed by FEMA, USA. This study aims to identify the potential for developing the HAZUS model as a tool for estimating disaster losses in school buildings in Indonesia. The identification was conducted in four stages. The analysis of HAZUS models consisted of hazard analysis, capacity analysis, damage analysis, and losses analysis. A case study was conducted on disaster losses potential mapping in Cicendo District, Bandung City, Indonesia. On the hazard analysis, hazard data were applied on the basis of the Indonesian earthquake hazard and 2017 source map and building code of SNI 1726:2019 as response spectrum procedure. In the analysis of the building capacity, potential development was identified based on capacity building parameters (Ay, Dy, Au, Du) specific to the typical school building in Indonesia with a survey approach and analysis of existing buildings. Concrete Frame with infill masonry shear walls (C3) and Reinforced Masonry Wall with flexible diaphragms (RM1) were identified as the types of structures, which were close to the typical school buildings in Indonesia. The difference of local structure characteristics was identified as the potential to develop fragility curves of local structure on the damage analysis. In the losses analysis, four components of economic loss were applied, consisting of building replacement and repairment of losses, income losses, and building relocation losses. The potential and challenges lie in the use of limited taxonomic data on buildings and school administration data, as well as in the historical data approach to the costs and duration of school building repairs.

Multi-Criteria Seismic Risk Assessment Based on Combined Weight-TOPSIS Model and CF-Logistic Regression Model—A Case Study of Songyuan City, China

Urban seismic hazards are natural disasters caused by earthquakes in urban areas, which may lead to serious casualties, the collapse of buildings, infrastructure damage, and other impacts, require huge social resources for recovery and reconstruction, and even affect the security stability and sustainable development of the area. This paper adopts the research idea of “Risk = Hazard × Exposure × Vulnerability ÷ Emergency response and recovery capability” and constructs an evaluation system containing 24 representative indicators on this basis. The CF-logistic regression model is applied in the study to calculate the seismic hazard, while the combined weight-TOPSIS model is used to assess the vulnerability of urban hazard-bearing body. Lastly, the study conducts multi-criteria seismic risk evaluation using the GIS platform. The results show that the overall seismic risk in Songyuan is moderate, with 18.66% of the medium-risk area, 37.68% of the very low risk area, 33.96% of the low-risk area, 8.47% of the high-risk area, and 1.23% of the very high-risk area. The significance of this study is to provide a scientific basis for formulating corresponding disaster prevention and mitigation measures and emergency plans, improving urban disaster prevention and emergency response capabilities, reducing urban earthquake disaster losses, and helping to achieve safe and stable urban development.

Assessment of Vulnerability Caused by Earthquake Disasters Based on DEA: A Case Study of County-Level Units in Chinese Mainland

Earthquake activity can generate huge energy in a short period of time, bringing enormous risks to people’s lives and property safety. This poses a great challenge to regional sustainable development. Meanwhile, due to the complex mechanism, seismic activity is difficult to accurately predict. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore how to reduce earthquake disaster losses from the perspective of human society. In this study, we use vulnerability to reflect the relative impact of earthquake disasters on different counties. The vulnerability caused by earthquakes is calculated with the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. We use CCR and BCC models to further decompose vulnerability into pure technology vulnerability and scale vulnerability. This study analyzes 69 earthquake disasters that occurred in the Chinese mainland from 2013 to 2020 and explores the influencing factors of pure technology vulnerability from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Three main conclusions are drawn. First, four factors, including the added value of the secondary industry, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, investment density of fixed assets and energy released by earthquakes, have a significant impact on the pure technical vulnerability of counties caused by earthquake disasters. Second, in the samples under consideration, the average vulnerability of the regions with an earthquake magnitude below 5.0 is higher than that of the regions with an earthquake magnitude between 5.0 and 6.0. There are deficiencies in organization, management and facilities in regions with a small earthquake risk. Third, through qualitative analysis, it is shown that the seismic function of buildings affects the vulnerability of counties facing earthquake disasters. The results of the research can provide decision makers with new insights into earthquake prevention and disaster reduction management.

Classification of Seismaesthesia Information and Seismic Intensity Assessment by Multi-Model Coupling

Earthquake disaster assessment is one of the most critical aspects in reducing earthquake disaster losses. However, traditional seismic intensity assessment methods are not effective in disaster-stricken areas with insufficient observation data. Social media data contain a large amount of disaster information with the advantages of timeliness and multiple temporal-spatial scales, opening up a new channel for seismic intensity assessment. Based on the earthquake disaster information on the microblog platform obtained by the network technique, a multi-model coupled seismic intensity assessment method is proposed, which is based on the BERT-TextCNN model, constrained by the seismaesthesia intensity attenuation model, and supplemented by the method of ellipse-fitting inverse distance interpolation. Taking four earthquakes in Sichuan Province as examples, the earthquake intensity was evaluated in the affected areas from the perspective of seismaesthesia. The results show that (1) the microblog data contain a large amount of earthquake information, which can help identify the approximate scope of the disaster area; (2) the influences of the subjectivity and uneven spatial distribution of microblog data on the seismic intensity assessment can be reduced by using the seismaesthesia intensity attenuation model and the method of ellipse-fitting inverse distance interpolation; and (3) the accuracy of seismic intensity assessment based on the coupled model is 70.81%. Thus, the model has higher accuracy and universality. It can be used to assess seismic intensity in multiple regions and assist in the formulation of earthquake relief plans.

Chinese Nationwide Earthquake Early Warning System and Its Performance in the 2022 Lushan M6.1 Earthquake

As one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world, China faces extremely serious earthquake threats, especially for those heavily populated urban areas located near large fault zones. To improve the ability to prevent and minimize earthquake disaster risks, and to reduce earthquake disaster losses, China is currently building a nationwide earthquake early warning system (EEWS) with the largest seismic network in the world. In this paper, we present the newest progress of this project through describing the overall architecture of the national EEWS and evaluating the system performance during the 2022 Lushan M6.1 earthquake. The accuracy of the source characterization for the Lushan earthquake is discussed by comparing the continually estimated location and magnitude with the catalogs obtained from the China Earthquake Networks Center. For this earthquake, the EEWS generated a total of five alerts, and an initial alert was created 5.7 s after its occurrence, with excellent epicentral location and origin time estimation. The final alert was issued 16.5 s after origin time with a magnitude estimate of M6.1, the same as the catalog value. However, from the point view of alerting performance, the radius of the real blind zone without warning time was about 30 km and much larger than the theoretical result, mainly caused by the releasing system not considering the epicenter distance of each terminal when issuing the alerts. Although the earthquake exposed some limitations that need to be addressed in future upgrades, the results showed that most aspects of the EEWS presented a robust performance, with continuous, reliable event detections and early-warning information releasing.

Developing GIS-based earthquake loss model: a case study of Baqiao District, China

Large earthquakes frequently occurred and caused substantial damage and losses in Chinese densely populated urban areas. It is worth clarifying that the existing earthquake loss assessment tools in China do not consider its special characteristics (e.g., tectonics, geology and building inventory). In this paper, an integrated framework for earthquake loss assessment in China is proposed and a geographic information system (GIS)-based system, referred to as China Earthquake Disaster Loss Assessment System, is developed. The individual building is considered as the basic geographical unit and described in three levels (i.e., basic attributes, structural performance parameters, and functional parameters. A three-step data collection method is proposed, and the mobile GIS-based field collection tool is developed. A broad, reasonable, and upgradeable building typology is then presented for the seismic fragility assessment of building blocks. A new economic loss model and casualty model are also presented by considering the characteristics of economics and population. The proposed methodology is implemented in Baqiao District, and the estimation of economic losses and casualties under a scenario earthquake is discussed, which can provide information for urban disaster risk assessment and mitigation.

Comparative analysis of the earthquake disaster risk of cities in Eastern China based on lethal levels – a case study of Yancheng City, Suqian City and Guangzhou City

Earthquake disaster risk analyses provide significant scientific guidance for reducing earthquake disaster losses etc. The current commonly used method is based on the vulnerability of different types of buildings to evaluate, and may ignore the difference between the seismic resistance of the same type of buildings in different areas. The lethal level considers a series of reasons such as different types of buildings, resulting in different capacities for casualties, the lethal levels of the cities in the same subregion are considerably different and exhibit obvious distribution characteristics. In Yancheng and Suqian, the lethal levels in urban areas are lower than those in rural areas, but the lethal levels in Guangzhou show the opposite trend (the lethal levels are higher in urban areas than in other towns and rural areas). The average lethal level in Guangzhou is 0.3856, that in Suqian is 0.5844, and that in Yancheng is 0.5912. This study based on the lethal levels, conduct a comparative analysis of the earthquake disaster risk of cities throughout eastern China, and a map of the earthquake disaster risk in each city is obtained. The overall lethal level and risk in Guangzhou is much lower than those in Yancheng and Suqian. The main influencing factors in the different cities also diverge. One reason for the lower lethal levels and risk in Guangzhou is that most of the brick-concrete structures are equipped with ring beams and structural columns; conversely, Yancheng and Suqian exhibit higher lethal levels and risk because the brick-concrete structures have ring beams but no structural columns. These maps provide a technical reference and solid scientific and technological support for further earthquake disaster risk analyses and for disaster prevention, mitigation and disaster relief planning, and this method improves the accuracy of rapid postearthquake assessment.

Pre-Assessment of earthquake-induced losses: a case study from Xiangning County, Shanxi Province, China

Rapid assessment of earthquake disaster loss is the main method of earthquake emergency response after an earthquake. China has a vast territory, the accuracy and current situation of regional basic data are generally low, and the houses in rural areas are not subject to mandatory seismic fortification requirements, which are the key factors affecting the accuracy of rapid assessment results. The regional field investigation is applied to the process of earthquake disaster loss pre-assessment. Through the investigation of the building structure, personnel mobility and major hazard sources, the accuracy of rapid assessment of casualties will be improved. Taking Xiangning County of Shanxi Province as an example, the method of earthquake disaster loss pre-assessment is studied.

CLOUD-BASED GEOSPATIAL PLATFORM IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 2030: HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR EARTHQUAKE DISASTERS?

Abstract. In July 2, 2018, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a resolution of the strategic framework of disaster risk reduction. Many seismic countries have experienced challenges with natural hazards, such as earthquakes every year. Seismic safety monitoring and infrastructures, including building vulnerability assessment of earthquake are significant means to protect the safety of people and reduce the loss of property. We present cloud-based Geospatial Information Technologies in this study to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 in earthquake disaster loss reduction, mitigation, and resilience. The authors investigated and programmed the instruction building codes of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We developed sophisticated algorithms to construct a geospatial cloud-based system to support the implementation of disaster risk reduction for strengthening infrastructures and resiliency of pre and post-earthquakes. However, the content is entirely based on the understanding of geospatial knowledge, engineering, and services to the people for a better world for future generations. The objectives of this study are to (1) participate in global sharing of experiences on utilizing geospatial information technologies to address disasters resilience and challenging issues of determining the vulnerability of buildings and estimation of risk as well as recommendation for retrofitting; and (2) developing Geospatial Infrastructure Management Ecosystem (GeoIME) including, Geospatial Rapid Visual Screening (GeoRVS) cloud-based platform. They enable the determination of the vulnerability of infrastructures, such as buildings and the estimation of risk for disaster reduction and management. This study shows that we reduced the cost and time for inspecting a building by 75% and %80, respectively. The application of this study can be used for retrofitting and rehabilitation of infrastructures like buildings and bridges for before and after earthquakes. Finally, we propose recommendations that might be helpful to countries having similar issues, and it has great potential for scalability and customization in other disasters such as floods.

CEDLES: a framework for plugin-based applications for earthquake risk prediction and loss assessment

To evaluate the seismic risk and loss caused by an earthquake, many earthquake disaster loss assessment softwares have been developed. However, it is difficult to apply one earthquake disaster loss assessment software for all countries due to the different characteristics of seismic, architectural and economic of various countries. China is one of the high-seismicity regions in the world. Thus, it is imperative to develop an earthquake disaster loss assessment software suitable for China. In this paper, a novel framework for plugin-based applications named CEDLES is designed considering the scalability of the software. The features provided by CEDLES to ease the development of extensible applications are described. This framework includes a startup project, a common plugin framework base, a geographic information system plugin framework base, and a plugin manager project. These utilities allow rapid development and integration in which robustness and quality play a fundamental role. A first prototype, Earthquake Risk Prediction and Loss Assessment System (ERPLAS) is designed and implemented. It integrates the plugins of seismic hazard analysis, structural damage analysis, loss assessment, earthquake insurance rate estimation, and benefit–cost analysis of building retrofit, especially for China. ERPLAS is applied to Baqiao District in Xi’an and the estimation results are displayed and debated, which verify the practicality of ERPLAS and the feasibility and facility of CEDLES framework.

Estimation of Seismic Ground Motions and Attendant Potential Human Fatalities from Scenario Earthquakes on the Sanchiao Fault in Taipei City, Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to estimate maximum ground motions in Taipei city in the form of ShakeMaps as well as to assess potential human fatalities from scenario earthquakes on the Sanchiao active faults in this area. Analysis of seismic hazard potential becomes necessary in Taipei City for the Central Geological Survey (CGS) announced the Sanchiao active fault as Category II. The resultant ShakeMap patterns of maximum ground motion by using ground motion prediction equation (GMPE) method in a case of Mw6.88 show the areas of PGA above 400 gals are located in the northern and western parts of Taipei. Furthermore, the areas of PGA above 500 gals are located in these regions: Beitou, Shihlin, Datong, Wanhua, Jhongjheng, northern Neihu, western Jhongshan, western Daan and western Sinyi. In addition, seismic hazards in terms of PGA and PGV in the vicinity of the Sanchiao fault are not completely dominated by the Sanchiao fault. The main reason is that some areas located in the vicinity of the Sanchiao fault are marked with low site response amplification values of 0.55 and 0.67 for PGA and PGV, respectively. Finally, from estimation of potential human fatalities from scenario earthquakes on the Sanchiao active fault, it is noted that potential fatalities increase rapidly in people above age 45. Total fatalities reach a high peak in age groups of 55–64. Another to pay special attention is Taipei City has hundreds of thousands of households whose residences over 40 years old. When a strong earthquake strikes, these old houses are vulnerable to collapse. In light of the results of this study, the author urge both the municipal and central governments to take effective seismic hazard mitigation measures in the highly urbanized areas with a large number of old buildings in Taipei city. The results of this study will show which areas with higher earthquake hazard potential in Taipei City. It will help mitigate Taipei City earthquake disaster loss in the future, as well as provide critical information for emergency response plans.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of earthquake disaster losses in China from 1993 to 2016

On the basis of data obtained from China Earthquake Administration and China National Statistics Bureau, this paper focuses on the earthquake disaster loss characteristics in 31 provinces or municipalities of China from 1993 to 2016. The trends of direct economic losses, casualties and affected population are also analyzed by constructing two relative earthquake loss indexes (losses/GDP and losses/E) and employing gray correlation theory. Results show that during the 24 years, without taking Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake into account, the direct economic losses exhibit a significant increasing trend while losses/GDP also increases but is not significant. Meanwhile, the injuries and affected population both witness a decline trend but the fatalities show the opposite. According to the correlational degree of each year, 8 years (1995, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014) suffered losses of equal or above moderate grade. Regionally, the western China suffered the most accumulative direct economic losses and losses/GDP. However, the ranking results of losses/E demonstrate that the central China is the most vulnerable when confronting with the same earthquake. Specifically, Sichuan and Yunnan suffered losses of extra-large grade, Qinghai of large grade and Tibet, Xinjiang and Guangdong of moderate grade. These discoveries are helpful for earthquake mitigation and preparedness as well as earthquake loss evaluation in China.

RAPID EXTRACTION OF LANDSLIDE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS AFTER JIUZHAIGOU Ms7.0 EARTHQUAKE BASED ON UAV IMAGES

Abstract. Jiuzhaigou earthquake led to the collapse of the mountains and formed lots of landslides in Jiuzhaigou scenic spot and surrounding roads which caused road blockage and serious ecological damage. Due to the urgency of the rescue, the authors carried unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and entered the disaster area as early as August 9 to obtain the aerial images near the epicenter. On the basis of summarizing the earthquake landslides characteristics in aerial images, by using the object-oriented analysis method, landslides image objects were obtained by multi-scale segmentation, and the feature rule set of each level was automatically built by SEaTH (Separability and Thresholds) algorithm to realize the rapid landslide extraction. Compared with visual interpretation, object-oriented automatic landslides extraction method achieved an accuracy of 94.3 %. The spatial distribution of the earthquake landslide had a significant positive correlation with slope and relief and had a negative correlation with the roughness, but no obvious correlation with the aspect. The relationship between the landslide and the aspect was not found and the probable reason may be that the distance between the study area and the seismogenic fault was too far away. This work provided technical support for the earthquake field emergency, earthquake landslide prediction and disaster loss assessment.

Spatiotemporal changes in both asset value and GDP associated with seismic exposure in China in the context of rapid economic growth from 1990 to 2010

Accurate exposure estimation is essential for seismic risk assessment. Recent rapid urbanization and economic growth in China have led to massive spatiotemporal changes in both the asset value and GDP exposed to seismic hazards. Using available GDP data, the asset value dataset produced by Wu et al () and spatial disaggregation technology, gridded maps of GDP and asset value are overlaid with the latest seismic map to investigate spatiotemporal changes in economic exposure in the most seismically hazardous areas (MSHAs) in China in 1990, 2000 and 2010. We found that 15.4% of China’s asset value and 14.1% of China’s GDP were located in MSHAs in 2010, and the asset value and GDP exposed to MSHAs reached 15.9 trillion CNY and 6.2 trillion CNY, respectively, with average annual rates of increase of 14.4% and 11.3% over the two decades. The evidence of increased exposure provides valuable information regarding whom or what risk managers should give the most attention based on the economic exposure changes in earthquake-prone areas of China. Notably, the North China seismic belt, which is associated with the largest economic exposure to earthquakes and a rapidly increasing rate of economic exposure compared to those in other seismic belts, and the Qinghai-Tibet seismic belt, which has the highest earthquake occurrence, are two seismic belts of interest. A more detailed study is required to determine the relationship between increased economic exposure and earthquake disaster losses combined with hazard level and vulnerability.

A quick earthquake disaster loss assessment method supported by dasymetric data for emergency response in China

Abstract. Improving earthquake disaster loss estimation speed and accuracy is one of the key factors in effective earthquake response and rescue. The presentation of exposure data by applying a dasymetric map approach has good potential for addressing this issue. With the support of 30'' × 30'' areal exposure data (population and building data in China), this paper presents a new earthquake disaster loss estimation method for emergency response situations. This method has two phases: a pre-earthquake phase and a co-earthquake phase. In the pre-earthquake phase, we pre-calculate the earthquake loss related to different seismic intensities and store them in a 30'' × 30'' grid format, which has several stages: determining the earthquake loss calculation factor, gridding damage probability matrices, calculating building damage and calculating human losses. Then, in the co-earthquake phase, there are two stages of estimating loss: generating a theoretical isoseismal map to depict the spatial distribution of the seismic intensity field; then, using the seismic intensity field to extract statistics of losses from the pre-calculated estimation data. Thus, the final loss estimation results are obtained. The method is validated by four actual earthquakes that occurred in China. The method not only significantly improves the speed and accuracy of loss estimation but also provides the spatial distribution of the losses, which will be effective in aiding earthquake emergency response and rescue. Additionally, related pre-calculated earthquake loss estimation data in China could serve to provide disaster risk analysis before earthquakes occur. Currently, the pre-calculated loss estimation data and the two-phase estimation method are used by the China Earthquake Administration.

Comparison of two large earthquakes in China: The Ms 6.6 Yunnan Jinggu Earthquake and the Ms 6.5 Yunnan Ludian Earthquake in 2014

Over a period of 2 months in 2014, two large earthquakes struck Jinggu and Ludian, Yunnan, China successively. Although there was only 0.1 magnitude of difference between the two great earthquakes, losses from the “10∙07” Jinggu Earthquake was much lower than that of “8∙03” Ludian Earthquake in China. Earthquake disaster loss or risk is related to the environment, hazard, exposure and regional copping capacity. To exactly identify to what extent these factors contribute to the disaster loss would be a big challenge. The disaster effect amplification and attenuation of disaster-formative environment and exposure on a same magnitude earthquake are of great significance in guiding the work of fast seismic disaster assessment and rescue. In this paper, the basic characteristics, their forming mechanisms induced by “10∙07” Jinggu Earthquake were analyzed, and with comparison on the differences of “8∙03” Ludian Earthquake. Some conclusions are as follows: The spatial pattern of “big magnitude with small disaster” is a combined result of hazards, disaster-formative environment and exposure. The factors resulting in different casualties of the two earthquakes focus on the houses structure, population density, topography and geomorphology in the two earthquakes area. This study could help governments to take more effective disaster risk management and emergency measures when preventing and responding to a severe earthquake.

Design of System of Earthquake Disaster Loss Assessment

Design of System of Earthquake Disaster Loss Assessment

Average Damage Ratio and Earthquake Damage Matrix of Non-Engineered Building in Seismogenic Provincial Regions in China

Non-engineered buildings are most of self-built house, which locate in rural area in China. The structural defect of non-engineered buildings could reduce seismic capacity. The damage of these buildings are the main cause of earthquakes casualties and economic losses. The main types of the building structures include the wooden house, soil and wood house, brick and wood house and masonry house. It is the seismogenic provincial regions for Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan in China. Based on the four type houses in the four regions, 104 earthquake disaster loss reports were selected from 1990 and 2013. This article focused on the analysis of house damage data. This article proposes "the average damage ratio" concept, which takes one provincial region as an area and studies the whole area data. Due to a combination of multiple and differenteffects of earthquakes within one provincial region, the average damage ratio can be on behalf of the damage ratio, and reflects the non-engineered building characteristics in the provincial region. And then the article demonstrates that the earthquake damage matrix of different house types in these four provinces area. The earthquake damage matrix provides a more reliable basis for the earthquake disaster evaluation in rural area.