Analytical structural vulnerability and classification of Italian residential building stock to tsunami hazard

The increasing exposure of Mediterranean coastal regions to tsunami risk, also due to climate changes, leads to the need of tools to support disaster risk management and loss assessment. This study presents a tsunami structural vulnerability model for Italian residential buildings based on numerical analysis and Monte Carlo simulation. Starting from national building census repositories, typical building typological classes and main attributes are defined. Monte Carlo simulation is performed to simulate building stocks statistically representative of existing Italian residential buildings, and analytical models are adopted for the structural damage assessment of such buildings under tsunami inundation. The structural damage is classified according to a unified damage scale adapted for different structural typologies, and a damage index is computed to describe the structural vulnerability to tsunami hazard. Based on the analytical vulnerability curves, tsunami vulnerability classes for Italian residential buildings are finally proposed to be used for an informed definition and prioritisation of risk mitigation strategies. Results from this study can be also applicable to other Mediterranean regions with a similar construction practice.