Seismic Intensity Maps for North Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey) using Local Felt Intensity and Strong Motion Datasets

Abstract:

Seismic intensity maps indicate the spatial distribution of ground shaking levels in the meizoseismal area affected from an earthquake. Intensity maps provide guidance for the rapid assessment of shaking intensity and consequently the physical damage involved with an earthquake. Local correlations between the instrumental ground motion parameters and shaking intensity values are used to prepare these maps. There are several correlations derived using data from different regions in the world. However, since local damage characteristics of the built environment affect the felt-intensity values directly, different felt-intensity values may be reported in two different regions subjected to ground motions with similar amplitude and frequency contents. Thus such relationships should be derived based on regional strong motion and intensity datasets. Despite the intense seismic activity, as of now there are no such local correlations for the North Anatolian Fault Zone. In this study, we use the recently-compiled Turkish strong motion dataset along with the corresponding felt intensity data from past earthquakes to derive local relationships between MMI and a selected ground motion parameter (PGA, PGV, and SA at selected periods). We provide two sets of predictive equations: first group expresses the intensity values as a function of a selected ground motion parameter while the second set is more refined involving the event magnitude, distance and site class terms as independent variables. We present intensity maps of selected past events against the observed maps. We conclude that regional data from seismic networks is crucial for preparing realistic maps for use disaster management purposes.