A new exclusion method for determining the not-to-assess structures based on post-earthquake seismological data. The case of the Emilia earthquake.

The Emilia, May-July 2012, earthquake hit a highly industrialized area, where some tens thousands industrial buildings, mainly single storey precast structures, are located. Due to the likelihood of strong aftershocks and the high vulnerability of these structures, the authorities first asked for a generalized seismic retrofit after the strong shakings of May 20th. In order to accelerate community recovery, the requirement of generalized seismic retrofit was later loosened, leaving out the buildings which had undergone a strong enough shaking without any damage; the strong enough shaking was defined with reference to the ultimate limit state design earthquake. In short, the earthquake was used as large experimental test. In this paper a new model developed to identify the industrial buildings which have been considered earthquake tested and therefore not compelled to mandatory seismic retrofit is described. The method makes use of the shake maps and is particularly focused on structures that host businesses and industrial activities, allowing a fast and safe restoration of the relevant functions.