Title: Seismic vulnerability assessment and risk modelling of telecommunication systems

Authors: Naghmeh Pakdel-Lahiji; Morteza Bastami; Mehdi Sadeghi

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran ' Department of Lifeline Earthquake Engineering, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering, and Seismology (IIEES), Tehran, Iran ' Department of Civil Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: Lessons learned from past earthquakes have shown that continued operation of urban lifeline systems during the emergency can facilitate better relief and operation activities and reduce casualties and economic losses. A telecommunication system is one of the most important parts of an urban lifeline and plays a vital role in risk management. The primary goal of this paper is to assess the seismic vulnerability of these systems by developing vulnerability curves and comparing the effects of the near and far-field earthquakes on the curves. Two sets of seven near-field and far-field strong ground motion records have been analysed and vulnerability curves have been derived. The results are compared with HAZUS vulnerability curves. An exceedance probability curve is developed for a city in southern Iran as a case study, using seismic hazard curves and probabilistic earthquake risk modelling.

Keywords: telecommunication systems; vulnerability curves; lifeline systems; earthquake risk modelling; seismic vulnerability; vulnerability assessment; telecommunications; earthquakes; critical infrastructure; risk management; Iran.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2016.081298

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2016 Vol.12 No.4, pp.295 - 310

Received: 14 Oct 2015
Accepted: 28 Mar 2016
Published online: 03 Jan 2017 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article