Location
Chicago, Illinois
Date
03 May 2013, 1:45 pm - 2:05 pm
Abstract
Since mid-May 2012, an energetic seismic sequence has affected the northern part of Italy and specifically a wide sector of the Po River Plain. The sequence has been dominated by two main events: a) Mw = 5.9 occurred near Finale Emilia on May 20th at a depth of 6.3 km, and b) Mw=5.8 occurred near Cavezzo on May 29th at a depth of 10.2 km (earthquake location are obtained Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, http://iside.rm.ingv.it/). The effects of the two main shocks can be summarized as follows: - damage to infrastructures (roads, pipelines) essentially because of the occurrence of liquefaction phenomena or soil failure; - damage to very old constructions (especially churches and bell towers – masonry and brickworks); - recent constructions such as barns and industrial premises have collapsed. These constructions were mainly isostatic structures not designed to withstand earthquakes. The paper deals with the following arguments: - seismological aspects, mainly related to the seismo - tectonic framework, the source mechanisms, and the comparison between the observed seismic motion and that expected on the basis of the National Map of Seismic Hazard; - identification and mapping of the soil failures (liquefaction) and induced damage with special emphasis on the geomorphologic structures showing the presence of ancient riverbeds; - description of the structural damage regarding the historical buildings and the modern industrial buildings. In conclusion the report will try to explain the reasons for the large damage observed in the case of both ancient and modern constructions.
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Meeting Name
7th Conference of the International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering
Publisher
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Document Version
Final Version
Rights
© 2013 Missouri University of Science and Technology, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
File Type
text
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Lo Presti, Diego C. F.; Sassu, Mauro; Luzi, Lucia; Pacor, Francesca; Castaldini, Doriano; Tosatti, Giovanni; Meisina, Claudia; Zizioli, Davide; Zucca, Francesco; Rossi, Giuliano; Saccorotti, Gilberto; and Piccinini, Davide, "A Report on the 2012 Seismic Sequence in Emilia (Northern Italy)" (2013). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. 3.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icchge/7icchge/session12/3
A Report on the 2012 Seismic Sequence in Emilia (Northern Italy)
Chicago, Illinois
Since mid-May 2012, an energetic seismic sequence has affected the northern part of Italy and specifically a wide sector of the Po River Plain. The sequence has been dominated by two main events: a) Mw = 5.9 occurred near Finale Emilia on May 20th at a depth of 6.3 km, and b) Mw=5.8 occurred near Cavezzo on May 29th at a depth of 10.2 km (earthquake location are obtained Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, http://iside.rm.ingv.it/). The effects of the two main shocks can be summarized as follows: - damage to infrastructures (roads, pipelines) essentially because of the occurrence of liquefaction phenomena or soil failure; - damage to very old constructions (especially churches and bell towers – masonry and brickworks); - recent constructions such as barns and industrial premises have collapsed. These constructions were mainly isostatic structures not designed to withstand earthquakes. The paper deals with the following arguments: - seismological aspects, mainly related to the seismo - tectonic framework, the source mechanisms, and the comparison between the observed seismic motion and that expected on the basis of the National Map of Seismic Hazard; - identification and mapping of the soil failures (liquefaction) and induced damage with special emphasis on the geomorphologic structures showing the presence of ancient riverbeds; - description of the structural damage regarding the historical buildings and the modern industrial buildings. In conclusion the report will try to explain the reasons for the large damage observed in the case of both ancient and modern constructions.
