Intensity Prediction Equations Based on the Environmental Seismic Intensity (ESI-07) Scale: Application to Normal Fault Earthquakes

Abstract

Earthquake environmental effects may significantly contribute to the damage caused by seismic events; similar to ground motion, the environmental effects are globally stronger in the vicinity and decrease moving away from the epicenter or seismogenic source. To date, a single intensity prediction equation (IPE) has been proposed in the Italian Apennines for intensity scale dealings with environmental effects: the Environmental Seismic Intensity (ESI-07). Here, we evaluate the sensitivity of the IPE with respect to input data and methodological choices and we propose IPEs with global validity for crustal normal faults. We show the strong influence of input data on the obtained attenuation investigating the 1980 Irpinia–Basilicata (Southern Italy) earthquake. We exploit a dataset of 26 earthquakes to build an IPE considering the epicentral distance. We also propose an IPE considering the distance from the fault rupture, which is derived from a dataset of 10 earthquakes. The proposed equations are valid for normal faults up to 40 km from the epicenter/fault and may flank other models predicting ground motion or damage to the built environment. Our work thus contributes to the use of the ESI-07 scale for hazard purposes.