Development of an integrated model for seismic vulnerability assessment of residential buildings: Application to Mahabad City, Iran

There is incomplete knowledge about seismic vulnerability assessment of residential buildings due to the complexity and multiplicity of effective parameters. The lack of an integrated model with all effective parameters for such assessment limits the possibility of policy-making and decision-making toward earthquake risk mitigation and disaster risk reduction. This paper is a response to this need and proposes an integrated model for the seismic vulnerability assessment of residential buildings based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in geographic information system (GIS). The methodology integrates five main group-parameters -- geotechnical and seismological, social, distance to dangerous facilities, and access to vital facilities -- with their related sub-parameters. To evaluate the practicability and applicability of the newly developed model, it was used for Mahabad city, Iran. The obtained vulnerabilities for the city were mapped in GIS and the same were visualized in the 3D city model for residential buildings. The developed model can be considered as a significant tool to confront crises resulting from future earthquakes.