The street as an area of human exposure in an earthquake aftermath: the case of Lorca, Spain, 2011

ELISE BECK; MARC BERTRAN ROJO; CÉLINE LUTOFF

NATURAL HAZARDS AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES

COPERNICUS PUBLICATIONS

Lugar: Gottingen; Año: 2017

1561-8633

The earthquake which struck the city of Lorca, Spain, on 11 May 2011 killed 9 people, injured over 300 and caused considerable damage, including one collapsed building. Streets near buildings were the main danger areas for people. This article proposes an dynamic ad hoc spatio- temporal method for studying individual evacuation after an earthquake. Its application to the Lorca case shows the spatial and temporal variability of individual exposure levels in the street during the hours following the shock. As yet little stud- ied, human exposure deserves more attention, particularly in zones of moderate seismicity like the Euro-Mediterranean area. The results of this study could be helpful for enhanc- ing the evacuation planning after an earthquake, stressing the specific dangers in the street.