Search Results (122)

Current seismic design practices primarily emphasize the structural safety of buildings, while research on the safety of non-structural components in interior design remains relatively insufficient. In this study, from the perspective of interior design, we explored the performance of non-structural components during earthquakes and how design strategies can reduce damage and enhance the adaptability of interior spaces, to establish a design framework that integrates safety considerations with behavioral guidance. We conducted a literature review, questionnaire survey, and comprehensive analysis in this study. The questionnaire was structured to investigate (1) the development of interior finishing and seismic design, (2) the seismic performance of non-structural components, and (3) the application trends of seismic disaster prevention and evacuation strategies. The respondents included property owners, design and construction professionals, government agencies, and academic experts. Their responses were analyzed for the differences in perception and needs regarding safety and spatial adaptability among different stakeholder groups. Through analysis, influencing factors were identified, and an integrated design framework of non-structural components—spatial planning and behavioral guidance—was established for the development of an interior design strategy toward earthquake disaster prevention. Among the three dimensions, application trends of seismic disaster prevention and evacuation strategies received the highest evaluation score, with an average score of 4.7 (a standard deviation of 0.4) and a reliability coefficient of α = 0.93. 90% of respondents supported the integration of virtual reality, building information modeling, and simulation-based training to improve evacuation efficiency, demonstrating the high feasibility and promotion potential of disaster-prevention technologies. Full article

The Anninghe Fault Zone is an active, deep–large fault in southwestern China, with a history of multiple strong earthquakes. To reveal the temporal patterns of seismicity and improve medium- to short-term earthquake frequency prediction, this study constructs a quarterly seismic frequency sequence (M ≥ 3.0) from May 1972 to September 2025 and applies the SARIMA (seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average) model for modeling and prediction. The hypothesis is that the frequency sequence exhibits modelable seasonality, trends, and nested periodic structures. The ADF test and Ljung–Box test confirm that the sequence is stationary and non-white noise, satisfying the prerequisites for SARIMA modeling. The centered moving average method is used to extract short-term (1 year), medium-term (5 years), and long-term (10 years) periodic components, and corresponding SARIMA models are constructed. Results show that the medium-period model ARIMA(2,0,1) × (1,0,0)₂₀ achieves the best prediction accuracy (RMSE = 0.6868, MAE = 0.6143), followed by the short-period model, while the long-period model yields slightly higher errors. All selected models pass residual white noise tests and parameter significance tests, and exhibit good robustness under different training–test splits. The main innovations are: (1) the first systematic application of SARIMA to earthquake frequency prediction in the Anninghe Fault Zone, and (2) a preliminary physical interpretation of multi-scale periodic components (e.g., seasonal loading, strain accumulation fluctuations). This method offers significant application value in regions with sparse seismic networks or limited precursory data, providing a new statistical tool for regional seismic hazard assessment and disaster mitigation planning. Full article

The China Medium- and Long-term Earthquake Hazard Assessment Database (CMLEHAD) has been established by sorting and summarizing various datasets related to the assessment of earthquake hazard areas in the Chinese mainland. It integrates five key datasets: Seismic Geology, Geodesy, Seismology, Numerical Simulation, and Fundamental Model, providing comprehensive data for long-term and medium-term earthquake hazard analysis and other relevant studies. The data supports the analysis of the fault segments with seismic gap, motion strongly locked, sparse small–moderate earthquakes, and apparent Coulomb stress increase. In system architecture, the CMLEHAD is divided into three layers: data layer, service layer and application layer. It is designed for interactive display through Web and Geographic Information System (GIS) platforms. The data acquisition and method in the database have been widely recognized and used in the corresponding field. The database is continuously updated and maintained through collaboration between provincial earthquake agencies, research institutes, and technical experts to ensure its accuracy and relevance. Currently, the database provides tailored data sharing services to multiple provincial earthquake agencies and immediate centers, granting them access permissions and specific datasets according to their needs. The future work will focus on improving the database’s functionality by incorporating advanced models and automated data services, thereby consolidating the data foundation and serving the purpose of earthquake disaster mitigation. Full article

While check dams are crucial for debris flow mitigation, they face increasing failure risks under extreme weather and seismic activities. Their collapse can severely amplify debris flow magnitude, yet quantitative understanding of this amplification mechanism remains limited. Based on field investigations in southern Gansu, China, and a total of 12 flume experiments (comprising 11 distinct scenarios and 1 representative repeatability test), this study quantitatively assesses the amplification effect of dam breaches under varying channel slopes, check dam types, and bed conditions. Results indicate that dam-breach debris flow evolution comprises three stages: material initiation and deposition, breaching and material release, and recession. Crucially, dam breaching shifts the initiation mode from progressive retrogressive erosion to a near-instantaneous release of mass and potential energy. Compared to no-dam scenarios, breaches amplified peak discharge, erosion rate, and downstream inundated area by factors of 1.65–3.04, 1.44–1.55, and 2.14–2.77, respectively. This amplification is driven by the rapid initial release of material and energy, compounded by erosional entrainment during the transport phase. Furthermore, check dam type and channel slope act as key controlling factors. By revealing how check dams transition from protective structures to hazard sources, this study provides quantitative experimental evidence for optimizing dam design and advancing resilient disaster risk reduction strategies in mountainous regions. Full article

This study develops a framework to capture spatiotemporal population dynamics and assess future earthquake exposure risk, using Hubei Province as a case study. Future population changes at the county level were projected under different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). These projections were then integrated with NPP-VIIRS nighttime light data and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to simulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of the population from 2020 to 2070 at a 500 m grid resolution. Combined with seismic hazard zoning, the evolution of population exposure risk under different pathways was assessed. The results indicate the following: 1. Different SSPs profoundly influence future population exposure patterns. Under the SSP3 (regional rivalry) pathway, population growth is the fastest with the strongest agglomeration effect and significantly elevated exposure levels. 2. The refined spatiotemporal population model can more realistically reveal the heterogeneity and evolutionary trajectory of population distribution, providing a high-precision data foundation for exposure analysis and effectively enhancing the scientific rigor of risk assessment. 3. Population exposure risk under various pathways exhibits distinct spatiotemporal dynamics, and monitoring its evolution under different scenarios helps identify high-risk counties that require priority attention. This study is expected to provide precise scientific evidence for implementing differentiated disaster prevention and mitigation strategies and territorial spatial resilience planning in Hubei Province, while it demonstrates the forward-looking value of combining long-term scenario simulations with refined exposure assessments. Full article

Urban disaster management frequently relies on isolated single-hazard assessments and static census data. This conventional approach systematically obscures the highly dynamic, time-varying nature of population exposure to co-located environmental hazards. This study develops an observation-based, time-adaptive multi-hazard exposure prioritization framework to quantify these spatiotemporal variations. We integrate seismic amplification susceptibility, derived from shear-wave velocity estimates, and empirical pluvial flooding footprints with hourly dynamic living population data at a 250 m grid resolution in Seoul, South Korea. Results indicate that multi-hazard integration refines spatial prioritization, with 11% of high-priority areas diverging from single-hazard models, primarily driven by highly amplifiable alluvial deposits. Furthermore, dynamic living population data revealed clear diurnal exposure shifts. Business districts exhibited a daytime-to-nighttime exposure ratio of 3.35, whereas residential areas showed an inverse ratio of 0.69, demonstrating that identical physical conditions generate markedly different exposure patterns depending on the daily urban rhythm. Based on these temporal dynamics, we classified high-priority zones into Persistent (79.4%), Day-peak (10.3%), and Night-peak (10.3%) transition types. These findings suggest that urban exposure must be managed as a time-varying attribute rather than a static feature. The proposed classification supports targeted mitigation: structural improvements for Persistent areas, dynamic crowd management for Day-peak zones, and localized alerts for Night-peak zones. Driven by globally accessible mobile data, this framework provides a transferable foundation for exposure-informed urban resilience planning across diverse metropolitan environments. Full article

The deformation of surrounding soil primarily governs the behavior of underground structures. Consequently, variations in their external geometry significantly affect their overall seismic response. Moreover, large soil deformations and structural uplift caused by liquefaction severely threaten their seismic safety. While most previous studies have focused on conventional rectangular subway stations, the seismic performance of novel varying-span structures remains largely unexplored. In this study, nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses are conducted to investigate the soil–structure interaction (SSI) of large unequal-span subway stations in liquefiable sites. Furthermore, the seismic responses of both the structure and the surrounding soil are systematically evaluated under various burial depths of the liquefiable layer. Finally, a U-shaped foundation reinforcement method is proposed to mitigate structural uplift. The results show that unequal-span structures suppress liquefaction in lateral soil, whereas significant liquefaction occurs beneath the base slab and cantilevered middle slabs. The burial depth of the liquefiable layer has a negligible effect on the liquefaction state directly under the center span. Regarding structural response, global uplift follows a spatial pattern that peaks at the center span and gradually attenuates laterally. Although the proposed U-shaped reinforcement effectively reduces both total and differential uplift, it does not fundamentally change the underlying liquefaction mechanism. Specifically, reinforcing the soil under cantilevered sections minimizes differential uplift while enhancing the overall economic efficiency of the seismic design. These findings provide a scientific basis for optimizing the seismic resilience of complex underground structures, contributing to the development of resource-efficient and disaster-resilient urban underground infrastructure in liquefaction-prone regions. Full article

As climate-driven disasters intensify globally, this study investigates how environmental volatility influences the pro-environmental initiatives of micro-entrepreneurs in Chile. While Chile possesses world-class seismic resilience, the 2020–2025 period marked a dramatic shift toward hydro-climatological extremes, including mega-fires and catastrophic flooding. Integrating construal level theory, protection motivation theory, and the concept of focusing events, this research examines the psychological and structural drivers of business adaptation. Results indicate that residing in disaster-prone regions is insufficient to trigger proactivity; instead, a stark distinction exists between abstract geographic proximity and the behavior triggered by personal exposure. Furthermore, mediation analysis provides mixed support for the role of business profit; while profit loss negatively mediated equipment efficiency and recycling, the magnitude was marginal. This coping gap suggests that resource-constrained actors favor low-cost survivalist tactics over systemic shifts due to depleted organizational slack. Ultimately, the study highlights that disasters are powerful but inefficient teachers; without addressing technical and financial barriers to mitigation, global supply chains remain fragile despite localized disaster experiences. Full article

Rapid assessment of existing reinforced concrete (RC) buildings is essential for effective seismic risk mitigation, particularly in highly active regions such as Bingol, Turkiye. This study evaluates the local performance of three Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) methods—RBTY-2019, FEMA-P154, and IITK-GSDMA—using verified post-earthquake damage data from the 2003 Bingol Earthquake (SERU-2003). To overcome the limitations of traditional RVS approaches, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed and trained with the same dataset to predict building damage levels based on structural deficiency parameters. The ANN achieved a regression coefficient above 0.90 and 100% consistency in test predictions, demonstrating superior accuracy and adaptability to local construction characteristics. A Local Scaling Function (LSF) was also proposed to translate RBTY-2019 performance scores into empirical damage states, achieving 100% consistency with observed data. The findings highlight the reliability of locally trained AI models and the importance of adapting national screening regulations to regional seismic experiences. This integrated ANN–RVS framework provides a practical, data-driven tool for local authorities to prioritize urban building stock and strengthen disaster risk management strategies. Full article

Cascade dams describe an arrangement of several dam structures built along a flow path. Failure of one upstream dam in the cascade system can trigger catastrophic consequences to the downstream dams, as evidenced recently in the Edenville Dam and Sanford Dam. Previous research has mainly focused on rainfall-induced dam failures, although recent failures have demonstrated a combination of floods and earthquakes. Moreover, limited studies have analyzed the sensitivity of dam breach parameters, such as dam breach height and width in dams arranged in a cascade system for seismic events. Most hydraulic simulations that model seismic-induced dam failures assume the complete collapse of dams to analyze the downstream consequences. Hence, this study presents a novel analysis in simulating earthquake-induced failures in a cascade dam system, considering the sensitivity of dam breach parameters. In addition, dam breach parameters have been derived from the structural analysis of dams employing Finite Element Models (FEMs) to a critical Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) of 0.3 g. Two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, along with the full dynamic wave equations, are undertaken in the study to model the earthquake-induced cascade dam failures. The results further elaborate on the significance of modeling cascade dam failures in terms of the consecutive arrival of floods and total flow compared to individual dam failures. Sensitivity analysis of dam breach parameters shows that the breach height is more significant than the breach width and breach slope. However, its significance decreases as the dam breach flood flow path increases in distance. The study further confirms the novel utilization of structural analysis to derive dam breach parameters for seismic-induced dam failures of concrete arch dams and rockfill dams, which will guide the optimization of disaster mitigation strategies and the operational resilience of the dams. Full article

Catastrophic mass flows originating from the high mountain cryosphere often cause cascading hazards. With increasing human activities in the alpine region and the sensitivity of the cryosphere to climate warming, cryospheric hazards are becoming more frequent in the mountain regions. Monitoring the evolution and impact of the glaciers and ice-rock avalanches and hazard consequences in the mountain regions is crucial to understand nature and drivers of mass flow process in order to prevent and mitigate potential hazard risks. In this study, the glacier and ice-rock avalanches that occurred in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) were investigated based on the Sentinel-2 satellite data and in situ observations, and the main driving forces and impacts on the regional environment, landscape, and geomorphological conditions were also analyzed. The results showed that the avalanche deposit of Arutso glacier No. 53 completely melted away in 2 years, while the deposit of Arutso glacier No. 50 melted in 7 years. Four large-scale ice-rock avalanches in the Sedongpu basin not only had significant impacts on the river flow, landscape, and geomorphologic shape in the basin, but also caused serious disasters in the region and beyond. These glacier and ice-rock avalanches were caused by temperature anomaly, heavy precipitation, climate warming, and seismic activity, etc., which act on the specific glacier properties in the high mountain regions. The study highlights scientific advances should support and benefit the remote and vulnerable mountain communities to make mountain regions safer. Full article

The Xiannüshan Fault Zone, located in the southwestern part of the Huangling Anticline within the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Hubei Province, is one of the largest and most complex faults in the region. The geological structures of its different segments vary significantly. Previous studies have primarily focused on the northern segment and often relied on single geophysical methods, which are insufficient for detailed characterization of the entire fault zone. Based on existing geological data, field reconnaissance results, and the geological characteristics of different segments of the fault zone, we employed multiple geophysical methods for a varied investigation: shallow seismic reflection in the northern segment; a combination of waterborne seismic exploration and microtremor survey in the middle segment; and high-density resistivity in the southern segment. The integrated approach revealed the spatial extent, fault geometry, and activity characteristics of each segment, confirming that the Xiannüshan Fault Zone is a pre-Quaternary structure dominated by thrusting. The findings provide a critical scientific basis for regional seismic hazard assessment and disaster mitigation planning, while also establishing a technical framework with significant practical application value for detailed fault characterization in geologically complex environments. Full article

This study presents a multi-factor coupled assessment of seismic disaster risk for approximately 635,000 individual building units in Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, China, utilizing a high-resolution dataset. The assessment methodology innovatively integrates the three core components of risk: seismic vulnerability V of load-bearing structures, site-specific seismic hazards R, and potential consequences C of damage, to formulate the Seismic Resilience Index I_SR = C·R·V. Crucially, the approach advances established risk assessment frameworks by enhancing the spatial resolution of the site influence coefficient R using a high-resolution national site classification map and detailed local geological data. The results reveal that the areas with the lowest I_SR values (indicating the lowest resilience and thus the highest risk) are predominantly concentrated in older residential districts of counties such as Ningshan, Hanyin, and Ziyang, where unreinforced masonry structures built prior to 1989 are widespread. The model assessment results align with expected structural performance characteristics, and the study concludes by offering quantified, priority-based recommendations for targeted structural intervention and seismic retrofitting in the identified highest-risk regions and building typologies. Full article

Earthquakes are among the most catastrophic natural disasters, primarily due to their immediate potential to cause loss of human life. However, their impact extends beyond the initial seismic event, particularly in karst systems, where groundwater resources are highly sensitive to geodynamic disturbances. The abundance of karst springs within these terrains makes them critical water sources for many communities, yet earthquakes can significantly disrupt their discharge patterns and degrade water quality. This study examines the vulnerability of karst springs to seismic activity, focusing on two case studies that illustrate distinct earthquake-induced hydrogeological effects. The first case investigates the temporary failure of the Opačac Spring near Imotski, Croatia, following the Mw 3.7 earthquake on 7 September 2018. This spring experienced a complete cessation of discharge for four days, as recorded by continuous hydrograph monitoring, before recovering due to the release of accumulated groundwater behind a temporarily blocked conduit. The second case explores the impact of seismic activity on water quality, focusing on the sensitive freshwater lens of the karstic Island of Vis in response to the Mw 6.1 earthquake on 22 April 2022, near Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite the epicenter being over 150 km away, water quality monitoring revealed notable changes, emphasizing the influence of seismic disturbances on fragile groundwater systems in carbonate island environments. Using a multidisciplinary approach, integrating seismic data analysis with hydrological and hydrogeological observations, this study investigates the mechanisms through which earthquakes alter karst water systems. A proposed vulnerability assessment framework is introduced, aiming to correlate earthquake intensity, proximity, and hydrogeological response to better predict karst spring failure and water quality degradation. This model provides valuable insights for disaster preparedness, water resource management, and risk mitigation strategies in karst terrains, highlighting the necessity of incorporating karst hydrogeology into regional earthquake response planning. Full article

The Sichuan–Yunnan region, a primary seismic-prone zone on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, has experienced heightened seismic exposure due to rapid urbanisation. In order to address the issue of disaster risks and to promote sustainable urban development, this study establishes an integrated urban seismic resilience evaluation framework based on the DPSIR (Driving–Pressure–State–Impact–Response) model. The CRITIC–AHP combined weighting method was utilised to determine indicator weights, and data from 37 prefecture-level cities (2010, 2015, 2020) were analysed to reveal spatial–temporal evolution patterns and correlations. The results demonstrate a consistent improvement in regional seismic resilience, with the overall index increasing from 0.501 in 2010 to 0.526 in 2020. Sichuan exhibited a “decline-then-rise” trend (0.570 to 0.566 to 0.585), while Yunnan demonstrated continuous growth (0.517 to 0.557). The spatial pattern underwent an evolution from “west–low, central–eastern–high” to “south–high, north–low”, with over half of the cities attaining relatively high resilience by 2020. Chengdu and Kunming have been identified as dual high-resilience cores, diffusing resilience outward to neighbouring regions. In contrast, mountainous areas such as Garze and Aba have been found to exhibit low resilience levels, primarily due to high seismic stress and limited socioeconomic capacity. Subsystem analysis has revealed divergent resilience pathways across provinces, while spatial autocorrelation has demonstrated fluctuating global Moran’s I values and temporary local clustering. This research provides a scientific foundation for seismic disaster mitigation and offers a transferable analytical framework for enhancing urban resilience in earthquake-prone regions globally. Full article