Earthquake Risk Assessment for Urban Infrastructure Planning and Safety

Urban planners often face the challenge of selecting safe sites for infrastructure, especially in areas prone to earthquakes. Accurately assessing the earthquake risk of a site can prevent costly damage and ensure the safety of future buildings.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use Fuse.Earth to upload geospatial data, analyze earthquake hazards, and generate reports for effective decision-making.

Step 1: Login to Fuse.Earth

Go to the Fuse.Earth website and log in with your credentials.

Step 2: Add Geospatial Data
The first step is to upload relevant geospatial data, such as earthquake epicenters, fault lines, and seismic zones.

Click the downward arrow next to the Geobar to access data upload options.

Select GIS Web APIs or paste the URL of earthquake epicenter data and hit the rightward arrow to visualize seismic zones and historical earthquake data.

This is crucial because without these data layers, you cannot understand the areas of high risk. By adding GIS Web APIs or uploading local data, you get access to real-time information and historical earthquake data that will serve as the foundation of your risk analysis.

Step 3: Visualize the Data
Once you have uploaded the data, use Fuse.Earth’s interactive map to visualize seismic activity, fault lines, and high-risk areas.

View the uploaded data on the interactive map, where you can see fault lines, earthquake epicenters, and risk zones highlighted on the map.

This step is essential because it allows you to immediately see which sites are within or near earthquake-prone zones, helping identify risks that could affect future infrastructure projects. Visualizing this data in a clear, understandable format is key to making informed decisions.

Step 4: Upload Shapefiles for Additional Layers
Shapefiles provide additional context to the geospatial analysis. Adding shapefiles for parcel boundaries, flood zones, or soil types helps assess the site’s physical characteristics, which is important for understanding how these features may influence earthquake impacts.

Click on the File Manager (Local)

Choose and upload shapefiles (e.g., parcel boundaries, fault lines, or flood zones) from your device to add extra context to the analysis.

This ensures a comprehensive analysis, as certain land features can amplify or mitigate seismic activity.

Step 5: Perform Analysis
You will now activate Geotray and use the Geometry tools to measure distances between project sites and earthquake fault lines. You will also perform a radius search to assess how far each site is from known epicenters and determine their exposure to seismic hazards.

Click on Geotray (bottom right of the window).

Use Geometry tools for measurements (distances, area) and Analysis tools to perform a radius search around fault lines or seismic zones.

This step is crucial for understanding the level of risk for each site and is essential for prioritizing mitigation measures.

Step 6: Generate Earthquake Risk Reports
After completing the analysis, Fuse.Earth allows you to generate detailed reports. These reports summarize the findings, such as site vulnerabilities, proximity to earthquake epicenters, and recommendations for making the site safer.

Generate detailed risk reports that summarize your findings, such as proximity to fault lines, potential vulnerabilities, and mitigation recommendations.

The report helps urban planners, engineers, and developers make informed decisions about the site’s suitability for development and the type of construction necessary to mitigate seismic risks.

By following these steps, urban planners can leverage Fuse.Earth to gain a comprehensive understanding of earthquake risks associated with various sites. The platform’s robust tools allow for effective visualization and analysis of seismic hazards, empowering planners to make data-driven decisions. This ensures safer, more resilient urban development, minimizing the impact of future seismic events. Fuse.Earth helps transform complex data into actionable insights, supporting smarter and safer planning decisions for the future.

Your Feedback Matters: Help Us Improve

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this tutorial! Please share what you found helpful or what could be improved. If something didn’t work, kindly let us know the specific issue, along with the section name and step number where you encountered it. Your feedback helps us enhance the experience!