RPBEE: Performance-based earthquake engineering on a regional scale

Abstract

Over the last two decades, the performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) framework developed by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center has gained the attention of researchers and practitioners worldwide. This framework was originally focused on quantifying the seismic risk of individual structures. However, with the advent of the “seismic resilience” concept, broader definitions of stakeholders and performance metrics on a regional scale are desirable. In this context, we present a formalized extension of the PEER PBEE framework for its use in groups of structures spatially distributed over a region, herein referred to as RPBEE framework. As an example, we use the RPBEE framework for computing the total number of damaged structures, the expected total economic loss, and the probability distribution of total economic losses within a region. We highlight differences with the original PEER framework and challenges arising from the implementation of the new RPBEE framework for future research and adoption, along with potential ways to overcome them.