MERCI

Management of Earthquake Risks using Condition Indicators

The Merci project is an interdisciplinary research project lead by the group on risk and safety (4 professors from 5 research groups at D-BAUG). The project is focused on developing a generic decision theoretical framework for the consistent and rational management of earthquake risks in three situations: before, during and after an earthquake. The decision support framework is being designed for decision makers and stake holders concerned about the safety of personnel, environment and (monetary) assets of a larger area such as a region or a city. The system, which is based on the Bayesian Decision
Theory and utilizes Bayesian Probabilistic Networks (BPN), is generic in the sense that it is formulated in terms of characteristic descriptors (indicators) that can be observed. It can thus be easily adapted to the characteristics of a specific region or city. The main emphasis is on the risks due to potential failures and collapses of building structures as well as infrastructure systems such as bridges and tunnels. An important feature of the decision framework is that in addition to assessing the risks (e.g. expected losses) it also provides decision support regarding how to optimize investments into risk reducing measures. More information may be found on http://www.merci.ethz.ch/.

• Management of Earthquake Risks using Condition Indicators (ETH Research Database 12296)