An overview of the economic damages of urban constructions in the fault zones

Earthquake is considered as one of the most destructive phenomena and natural hazards, which has become very important due to the increase in the growth and development of cities and the concentration of capital. Earthquakes, in addition to the acceleration caused by the passage of the wave, also carry the risk of earth rupture. The experience of destructive earthquakes indicates that the structures located in the boundaries of the earthquake fault suffered the most damage when the earthquake occurred. The maximum acceleration of ground movement can be calculated and its damages can be controlled by engineering measures, but it is difficult to control large displacements and prevent its transfer to the structure in the seismic fault zone. In the fourth edition of the 2800 Code, based on the study of the zoning committee of this Code, more than 300 main and large faults have been mapped for the territory of Iran, and in addition to that, there are other hidden faults that need to be accurately identified and located by more detailed studies. An important point in the seismicity of Iran, in addition to the relatively low depth of the earthquakes, is the adaptation of the hypocenters of the earthquakes to the location of the population centers. The method of evaluating and estimating damages caused by earthquakes is an important tool for dealing with earthquakes and also estimating building insurance. The present research is a review study in which the evaluation of the researches conducted from 1998 to 2023 related to the economic damages of urban constructions in the fault zones has been done. Among the many quantitative and qualitative methods, five effective methods for estimating and evaluating the economic damages of earthquakes are analyzed in order to predict the crisis and timely management of the crisis during the occurrence of the earthquake in the constructions located on the fault zones. Considering the issue that the geometrical characteristics of the faults and the engineering boundaries of the faults in each fault zone are specific to that area, therefore, in order to predict and accurately estimate the economic losses, it is suggested to implement a combination of the proposed methods.