Share

GEM recently released a new toolkit for vulnerability analysis, an open‑source platform compatible with commonly used earthquake engineering software such as OpenQuake and OpenSees.

Implemented in the Python programming language, it is freely accessible through a public GitHub repository. The toolkit which comes with a graphical user interface (GUI), is divided into seven modules designed to guide users through the different stages of analytical vulnerability modelling from the selection of ground motion records to the validation and verification of the models.

A unique feature of the toolkit is the integration in a single environment of all phases of seismic vulnerability assessment, including critical issues in vulnerability modelling related with the propagation of sources of uncertainty, verification of the resulting functions through risk metrics, and assessment of the performance of the chosen intensity measures in terms of sufficiency and efficiency.

Vulnerability functions describe the expected loss for a given ground shaking intensity level and are an essential component in probabilistic seismic risk assessment. However, these functions are usually developed using scripts created by the authors, which in the vast majority of the cases are not released along with the associated fragility and vulnerability functions.

This lack of transparency can prevent users from fully comprehending the modelling options and assumptions involved in the development of the models, which could be fundamental in understanding the range of applicability of the results.

Luis Martins, GEM’s principal author and developer of the toolkit said that “It is thus important to improve the transparency in vulnerability modelling, through the employment of open-source tools whose methodologies and assumptions can be reviewed, and even adapted, by the users.”

“The toolkit and are intended to provide earthquake engineers with a comprehensive platform to develop vulnerability models, while allowing a wide flexibility in terms of seismic demand, structural capacity, damage criteria and damage-to-loss conversion,” Luis added.

The paper provides a description of the capabilities of both the source code and the GUI. The complete toolkit, including source code and GUI, is currently hosted publicly at: