Messina Seismological Observatory Memorial Volume

The purpose of the special issue is essentially related to a characterization of specific modelling aimed at an evaluation of territory damage susceptibility, ranging from the observed intensity distribution of historical earthquakes to the determination of the site amplification factors and the urban and territorial seismic vulnerability.

This issue is addressed to researchers dealing with seismic studies as the result of an interactive process as part of macroseismic approaches and an a-priori determination of the elements if territory involved in the seismic risk evaluation.
The significant features which distinguish the work can be identified in the use of new methods for the evaluation of the damage scenarios of historical earthquakes (the local intensity virtual distribution); the adoption of a quick procedure of 2nd level seismic microzonation, depicted on a reduced number of parameters and in situ surveys; the characterization of an innovative seismic vulnerability evaluation procedure based on the analyses of the safety reducers and social priority levels of the elements of territory. The proposed studies, carried out in Sicily and Calabria (Italy), define an operative level of approaches aimed at engineering and civil protection applications.
In the proposed work, the reader will find specific detailed matters of particular interest.