Casualty estimation in the collapse of masonry structures due to earthquakes

There are many masonry buildings in the earthquake-prone countries. Since masonry buildings are very vulnerable against earthquakes, most casualties are caused by the structural collapse of masonry buildings in the past earthquakes. In this study, damages to masonry buildings, their interior-space damage and casualties of humans inside the buildings are calculated by the DEM. The relationships between structural damage, interior-space damage and casualties are investigated, and vulnerability curves to estimate casualties are constructed. The effect of retrofit measures on vulnerability curve is also investigated. Finally, a series of analytical procedures to construct the vulnerability curves to estimate casualties is summarized.