Seismic hazard assessment for Yanbu metropolitan area, western Saudi Arabia

The stochastic method is used to predict ground motions for Yanbu metropolitan area which has been affected by several earthquakes with the maximum magnitude of 6.8 in 1121 AD. The stochastic method has been used for simulating the time domain history for the peak ground acceleration (PGA), peak ground velocity (PGV), and peak ground displacement (PGD) at Yanbu metropolitan area. In addition, the response spectra at 3, 5, and 10 % of the damped pseudo-spectral acceleration (PSA) have been calculated at Al-Majd Sporting Club, Al-Maktabah, and Al-Shate Secondary School sites within the Yanbu metropolitan area. The results show that the values of PGA range from 137 to 388 cm/s2, PGV values vary from 8.96 to 25.5 cm/s, and PGD values range from 6.7 to 20.9 cm. The values of pseudo-spectral acceleration and predominant period are 974.53 cm/s2 (with 5 % damping) at 0.14 s for Al-Majd Sporting Club, 487.06 cm/s2 at 0.19 s for Al-Maktabah site, and 700.83 cm/s2 at 0.14 s for Al-Shate Secondary School. It is cleared that the values of ground motion parameters are amplified due to the presence of thick sections of very soft to soft sediments to more than six times those of the hard rocks. Furthermore, the estimated predominant periods from this study are correlated well with that of multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW) approach. These results should be taken into account during design and construction of civil engineering structures within the Yanbu metropolitan area.