A geophysics-informed pro-poor approach to earthquake risk management

Area of Science:

• Earthquake engineering
• Urban planning
• Geophysics

Background:

• Recent earthquake disasters underscore the need for improved seismic risk reduction strategies.
• Subsurface geophysical information, like seismic site response, is crucial for assessing seismic hazard.
• Vulnerable populations often live in areas with softer soils, exacerbating ground-motion amplification and seismic risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a decision-support framework for earthquake risk policies.
• To integrate urban geophysics, physical environment, and social factors into policy-making.
• To support pro-poor disaster risk reduction in the Global South.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Tomorrow's Cities Decision Support Environment.
• Integration of geophysical data with physical and social urban characteristics.
• Application of cost-benefit analysis for policy assessment.
• Utilization of a virtual urban testbed based on Global South cities.

Main Results:

• The proposed framework successfully integrates diverse urban data for policy support.
• Cost-benefit analysis effectively evaluates earthquake risk reduction strategies.
• Geophysics-informed policymaking demonstrates a capacity for pro-poor earthquake risk reduction.

Conclusions:

• Geophysical information is essential for effective earthquake risk management.
• Integrated decision-support frameworks can enhance urban resilience, particularly for vulnerable groups.
• Policy decisions informed by geophysics and socio-economic factors can lead to equitable disaster risk reduction.