Development of a technique for the rapid estimation of earthquake losses

A simple, general technique has been outlined for the rapid, approximate estimation of building losses resulting from ground shaking during earthquakes. The technique has been applied to the San Francisco Bay area. Ground shaking, ground failures of various kinds, surface faulting, tsunamis, and earthquake induced fires are all responsible for earthquake building losses. Only losses associated with ground shaking are considered in this report for a number of reasons. Losses associated with various types of ground failure such as landsliding and liquefaction are difficult to estimate because the conditions necessary for these effects to occur are not completely understood and/or may be difficult to identify. Losses related to surface faulting are believed to be small as a proportion of total losses (Algermissen and others, 1972), and losses related to tsunamis have been quite rare along the central California coast. Well-established methods are available for estimating fire losses, but these losses are beyond the scope of this report.