See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289768053

Vulnerability-evaluation-of-the-urban-area-
using-the-H-V-spectral-ratio-of-
microtremors 2015 International-Journal-of-
Disaster-Risk-Reduction

Dataset January 2016

READS

14

1 author:

Mehdi Mokhberi
Islamic Azad University, Estahban Branch
2 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate, Available from: Mehdi Mokhberi
letting you access and read them immediately. Retrieved on: 16 May 2016
 International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 369374

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijdrr

Vulnerability evaluation of the urban area using the H/V spectral ratio
of microtremors
M. Mokhberi
Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Estahban Branch, Estahban, Iran

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: During the age of cities, buildings were constructed using different techniques, materials, styles and
Received 2 February 2015 standard codes. Buildings have different responses to earthquake-related effects, depending on their
Received in revised form materials and design rules. Soil layer specications are recognized by different methods, including
24 June 2015
geotechnical, geophysical and the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (H/V). The spectral ratio of mi-
Accepted 25 June 2015
Available online 30 June 2015
crotremors was rst introduced by Nakamura [14]. This method is useful in site characterization studies
due to its low budget and easy use. In this paper, it is presented as a method for estimating the degree of
Keywords: vulnerability of structures using spectral ratio H/V. By applying a vulnerability study in the city of Shiraz,
Microtremor the predominant frequencies are derived for different parts of the city. The data is then used to dene a
H/V spectral ratio
coefcient of vulnerability for the earth. For this purpose, 11 different building structures including
Vulnerability index
masonry, steel and concrete were selected. Then, the primary frequency and amplication of the mi-
Disaster management
Site effect crotremor H/V spectral ratio for buildings are obtained. Furthermore, the resonant frequency and am-
plication factor of the ground is calculated. The vulnerability index of soil Kg and the vulnerability of
building Kb are dened. By comparing these coefcients, the damage factor of buildings during an
earthquake is obtained. These parameters are able to provide an inexpensive method for preparing a
disaster program for an urban area. In this paper, the damage rate of different buildings in Shiraz City was
obtained. In addition, the damage potential of the entire city area is calculated.
& 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction developing the guidelines to derive vulnerability and fragility

During the past three decades, many destructive earthquakes
in different regions of the world have occurred. These earthquakes
have killed many people, caused social and economic crises and
created distressing memories for many individuals. One of the
essential factors in urban disaster management is being able to
recognize the extent of damage caused during an earthquake. In a
vulnerability management study, the cost of retrotting buildings
should always be compared with the value of human life.
Signicant damage from large earthquakes is related to local
site response and building status. Consequently, understanding
both subsurface soil characteristics and the condition of structures
is important in earthquake risk analysis. Therefore, identifying a
vulnerability index that is related to site specications and
building status simultaneously is very important in the context of
disaster management of an urban region. Porter et al. [20] ex-
plained the WHEPAGER method in estimating the global building
inventory and its seismic vulnerability. Besides, Porter et al. [19]
carried out an international, multi-institutional project in
E-mail address: mmmokhberi@iauest.ac.ir
functions empirically, analytically, and by expert judgment. They
also create new vulnerability and fragility functions to illustrate
the guidelines, develop new relationships between collapse and
fatality rate, and propose guidelines to rate functions in several
quality dimensions. Their work was sponsored by the Global
Earthquake Model (GEM). Other researches show that subsurface
topography and geological conditions have important effects on
the nature as it concerns the level of ground motion [2,7]. In recent
years, decreasing studies that focus on budget and lessening
construction time and instead opting for research focusing on non-
destructive methods that are based on microtremor studies have
become popular. Compared with traditional methods, the latter
methods incorporate risk analysis, which include logging as the
most common of these.
Many empirical studies have been carried out to establish the
credibility of the horizontal-to-vertical H/V spectral ratio method
as a transfer function. The latest method was suggested by Naka-
mura [14]. This method was used to identify the predominant
resonant frequency of a sedimentary layer using the horizontal-to-
vertical ratio of the Fourier transform from microtremor data. The
comparison between the fundamental frequency obtained from
microtremor H/V spectral ratios and the receiver functions of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2015.06.012
2212-4209/& 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
370 M. Mokhberi / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 369374
earthquake recordings or explosion data have allowed researchers
to conclude that microtremor H/V spectral ratios provide reliable
estimates of the fundamental frequencies of soil deposits. Authors
such as Lachetl and Bard [8], Scherbaum et al. [21], Kobayashi et al.
[6], Diagourtas et al. [1], Mokhberi et al. [10], have conducted re-
search to establish the H/V spectral ratio in site characterization, in
addition to microzonation and urban vulnerability studies. Fur-
thermore, many researchers have also carried out studies on the
relation between earthquake damage and soil characteristics. Tri-
funac and Todorovska [22] and Haghshenas et al. [4] studied the
amplitude and frequency content of earthquakes, while Gallipoli
et al. [3] evaluated the dynamic characteristics of buildings during
and after damaging earthquakes. Additionally, the energy trans-
ferred back to the ground from the vibrating structures assessed
by a number of authors such as Mucciarelli et al. [12], tested
building damage due to soil-building resonance.
Nakamura [15,,17] also provided a new technique for in-
vestigating rapidly and with precision the durability of various
structures and the ground surface against earthquakes by using a
microtremor in Kobe. This approach is essential for use in micro-
zonation and can be applied in disaster management and vulner-
ability study programs. Using microtremor data can help to justify
the need for certain types of structural systems in vulnerable
areas. Recognizing the criteria for building vulnerability assists in
supporting the demand for the seismic retrotting of structures.
Moreover, special regulations that need to be applied during
construction will help to avoid irreparable damage.
The validity of the proposed method was examined by com-
paring the results of investigations conducted using the new
technique in earthquake damaged areas (prior to and/or after the
event) using the actual earthquake damage experienced. If vul-
nerable structural weak points are detected in advance by in-
vestigating the durability of various structures and the ground, the
potential damage to structures can be decreased by taking the
appropriate countermeasures. In order to understand the re-
lationship between damage and local site effect, one month after
the Kobe earthquake, Nakamura performed microtremor mea-
surements for roughly a year [16], investigated the dynamic
characteristics of the Colosseum in Italy and identied the primary
damage mechanism to evaluate the risk of damage or collapse for
various points of the structure. By considering the calculated K-
values, the maximum acceleration value that different points of
the Colosseum can accept can be calculated and proposed as a new
index for earthquake resistance. In addition, Mokhberi et al. [11]
conducted research to dene a coefcient of vulnerability index
for the city of Shiraz. They compared the vulnerability index ob-
tained from the predominant frequencies with the European
Macro-seismic Scale (EMS) damage criteria and documented the
damage potential of buildings during earthquakes. Panou et al. [18]
calculated the H/V spectral ratio and fundamental frequency (fo),
and the corresponding H/V amplitude level [13] was estimated.
Contour maps of both fo and Ao were compared with results from
geological and geotechnical studies, as well as with macroseismic
data from the 1978 Greece earthquake and were found to be well
correlated. The data conrmed that the (H/V) spectral ratio tech-
nique can be used as an inexpensive and rapid tool for micro-
zonation studies in urban environments. Michel et al. [9] recorded
ambient vibrations and estimated the fundamental frequency of
about 60 various types of reinforced and masonry buildings in
Grenoble City and Nice (France). Statistical analysis of experi-
mental data was performed using the fundamental frequencies of
reinforced concrete shear wall structures and the results were
compared to existing relationships. The study conrmed that only
building height or the number of storeys had a statistical relevancy
to estimating the resonance frequency, but that the variability
associated with the proposed relationships was signicant [5].
Triwulan et al. [23] has conducted an analysis using the H/V
spectral ratio method at Pare on 6 buildings, both on the ground
and building. These analyses were used to investigate the char-
acteristics of soil dynamics and the building structure. Soil char-
acteristics include ground natural frequency, amplication factor,
and vulnerability index and shear strain property of soil.
Previous studies have compared the Kg vulnerability index of
the ground with damage that affected the buildings. In the current
paper, the Kb vulnerability index was calculated for different types
of buildings. The ground vulnerability Kg was compared with the
vulnerability of buildings to provide a damage factor. This factor in
turn provided a damage level for buildings during an earthquake.
The damage factor notes the damage percent of a building and
assists urban planners in comparing construction costs in relation
to disaster mitigation budgets.
2. Data and data processing
2.1. Usage vulnerability index K in disaster management
In order to evaluate the vulnerability of buildings, Nakamura
[15] suggested a new approach in which he denes the Kg vul-
nerability index for ground and Kb for various structures based on
specications pertaining to the H/V spectral ratio. The sedimentary
layers had shear strain on surface ground 1000  10  6,
whereas at 41000  10  6 layers of sediment can undergo de-
formation and collapse. The shear deformation is obtained from
relation (1)
Ag2 g
=
Fg 2 b (1)
This approach can be used for structure members. Regarding
the formulations described in detail by Nakamura [15,16], a brief
description of shear strains is introduced in Eqs. (2) and (3), re-
spectively
2
( )
Kg = Ag /Fg (2)
Kb = (Ab )2 /Fb (3)
Here, Fg and Ag are the predominant frequency and amplication
factor on the ground surface, and Kb and Ab are the predominant
frequency and amplication factors of buildings, respectively.
These parameters were estimated using the H/V spectral ratio. As
illustrated in Fig. 1, if maximum acceleration is 100 cm/s2 at the
basement and the Kg value is 20, the average strain at the surface
ground layer was estimated at 2000  10  6; thus, the strain
exerted in this instance may cause damage to the ground in this
case. Several researchers have conrmed the relationship between
K values and actual earthquake damage.
2.2. Vulnerability index for selected buildings
The resonance frequency Fb and amplitude magnication Ab of
structures were obtained from microtremor studies. For this pur-
pose, 11 different buildings were selected in terms of construction
age, number of oors, construction style and building materials
(for examples of some of these buildings, see Fig. 3af). As shown
in Table 1, the building types I, II, V, VII and IX were constructed
using old masonry or by using previous UBC standards. Conversely,
structures type III, IV, VI, VIII, X and XI were designed and con-
structed according to the second or third editions of the Iranian
earthquake code.
The resonant frequency and amplitude magnication were
 M. Mokhberi / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 369374
Fig. 1. Shear deformation of surface ground [15].
Table 1
The disaster factor related to building styles as studied in the present research.
Disaster factor A B C D
kb r1 1o o 2 2o o 3
=
Ks
Damage rate Poor Moderate High
obtained using microtremor H/V spectral ratio. The noted para-
meters were assessed in two stages; rst, on the ground, where
microtremor components were recorded in a vertical direction,
eastwest and northsouth. Following the same procedure, the
microtremor recordings were carried out on the building's roof.
Fig. 2 shows images and related H/V spectral ratios for the studied
buildings. The H/V spectral ratios of ground microtremors and
buildings were obtained using GEOPSY software, as proposed by
the SESAM group.
2.3. Disaster factor for vulnerability management
This paper was carried out to determine the application of H/V
spectral ratio application in disaster management. This method is
able to estimate building damage caused by an earthquake. In an
urban area, the vulnerability indexes Kg can be calculated from the
resonant frequency and magnication factor obtained from seis-
mic microzonation studies. This ratio indicates how earthquakes
cause resonance within the sedimentary cover and how they
amplify the structures located on it. The ground vulnerability in-
dex Kg determines the soil instability caused by an earthquake. In
addition, the building vulnerability Kb is obtained from the am-
plitude and frequency of the structure according to the resonant
status.
Comparing the soil vulnerability index Kg and building vul-
nerability Kb can assist in assessing the damage caused to struc-
tures. The vulnerability ratio is dened as disaster factor , as
shown by Eq. (4)
= Kb/Kg
Table 1 compares the results of the ground and building Kg and
Kb related to their material types and soil classication. In this
study, the performance of the value of was used to evaluate the
vulnerability of existing structures in an urban area. The rate of
structure damage was classied for A through to D as related to
the amount of as discussed in Table 2. By revealing the disaster
factor , the vulnerability index of buildings Kb and ground Kg in
the city of Shiraz were compared. An earthquake with a magnitude
of 7 on the Richter scale was used as an example of a deterministic
earthquake, while an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale
was used as a probabilistic earthquake.
371
2.4. Discussion
In order to evaluate the disaster rating, ground vulnerability
indexes Kg were utilized for different points of the municipality
area 1 of Shiraz City. Furthermore, the Kb of existing buildings in
the selected area was also considered. The disaster factor was
determined for all the buildings located in this area. Given that
there are different buildings in each municipal area, the type of
buildings for each area was also estimated. Fig. 3 illustrates the
selected zone in the municipality area 1 of Shiraz City.
As per a Shiraz municipality report, the populations and
number of families of Shiraz City are close to values that are listed
in Table 3. The vulnerability index of buildings was individually
compared to the coefcient of soil vulnerability in all regions. In
the present study, the estimated disaster factor of municipality
area 1 was extended to all other areas.
Naturally, actual determination of the disaster factors for the
entire building area is impossible. The disaster evaluation of
buildings requires a large budget and an extensive period of time.
3o
Despite this, vulnerability estimation can be determined from a
Strong generalization of the disaster factor approach, as previously noted
in this paper. The results obtained from a limited area can in turn
render improvements for the extended area.
As discussed, Table 3 shows roughly 15,500 buildings to be
present in region 1. Based on earthquake magnitudes of 7 on the
Richter scale, Table 4 illustrates the approximation of damage in
this area. By generalizing the estimating approach to all zones of
the metropolitan area, total damage was obtained. This approach
was able to achieve a disaster management program at a low cost,
both nancially and time-wise.
In this region, around 30% of structures are masonry buildings
classied as grade D; 35% are old masonry buildings classied as
grades C and D; 20% consist of old framed structures graded as
class B and 15% consist of newly designed structures classied as
grade A.
Using the above-mentioned procedure and comparing the
ground vulnerability index and building vulnerability index for
region 1, in the case of a 7.0 Richter scale earthquake, the following
results were estimated.
2.4.1. Central part of the city
The soil classication for the central part of this region denotes
a deep siltclay layer or poorly-graded sand located on the deep
alluvial silty layers. The vulnerability index of the ground is strong.
The following describes the vulnerability status of soil types and
building specications:
 Nearly, 25% of buildings that consist of masonry reinforced
buildings will experience damage (grade C).
 Among old masonry buildings, 30% will experience failure
(grade D).
 Among concrete framed structures, 10% will experience da-
mage (grade C), as will15% (grade C) of old steel framed
(4) structures that had been designed according to past earthquake
standards.
 Among new structures that were designed and constructed
according to updated standards, 25% will experience no failure
or damage (grade A).
2.4.2. The border of the city
The city's border areas are located on the northern hills, which
have a shallow alluvium cover. The soil in this area consists of
dense silty-sand or silty-clay. The water table depth is above 50 m.
Therefore, the soil vulnerability index is low. In the event of a
magnitude 7 Richter scale, the damage to buildings in this area can
372 M. Mokhberi / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 369374

Fig. 2. Demonstration of the H/V spectral ratio on the ground and on the building roof for a number of studied buildings.

be described as follows: earthquake standards will experience damage (grade B).

 For masonry reinforced buildings, 25% of buildings will ex-
perience damage (grade A).
 5% of old masonry buildings will experience failure (grade C or
D).
 10% of old concrete framed structures and 15% of old framed
steel structures that were designed according to previous
 10% of new concrete structures that were designed and con-
structed using updated standards will experience no failure or
damage (grade A).
 50% of new steel structures were designed and constructed
according to updated standards will experience no failure or
damage (grade A).
 M. Mokhberi / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 369374 373

Damage rates

D
D

A
A
B

B

Kb/Kg

15.08

5.94
2.20
0.65
1.00

1.60
6.15

0.13
3.11
1.11

Kg A2/F

0.325
0.325
0.325

2.25

1.65
1.8

2.3

1
25
25
12
Amplication factor on the ground

Fig. 3. The studied region in municipal area 1 of Shiraz City.

Table 3
1.5
1.5
1.5

2.5

The amount on different buildings in Shiraz City area.

2
3
3

2
7
7
4
Free-eld frequencies

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Amount of 212,491 263,134 191,405 196,320 158,828 79,083 176,544 150,237

pollution
No. of families 58,058 73,092 52,328 50,819 37,371 21,968 43,292 42,857
Estimated num- 15,500 36,000 17,000 16,000 15,000 3550 25,000 28,000
ber of
2.5

1.5
6
6
6

4
4
2
4
2
2

buildings
aveKb A2/F

Fig. 4 illustrates the safe and vulnerable buildings in the se-

16.33
2.00

2.00
4.90

2.29
9.80
3.20

3.33
7.00

11.3

lected area as evaluated using H/V spectral ratio techniques. The

results can be repeated for a 9 Richter scale earthquake, as a

Amplication factor in building

probabilistic risk analysis, in the case of urban areas in the feature

studies.

2.4.3. Vulnerability evaluation for the city of Shiraz

Using the generalization of results obtained for the entire area,
it is possible to estimate the damage potential for all of the city's
areas by considering the number of buildings for different parts of
the city. The degree of disaster due to 7 Richter scale earthquakes
within different parts of Shiraz City is described in Table 4.

4
7
4
7
4
7
4
7
3
3
Frequencies on the roof

3. Conclusion

Using the H/V spectral ratio, the ground vulnerability index Kg,
building vulnerability index Kb and the disaster index for ground
and buildings were investigated. This research was conducted
2.7
0.8
10
8
9
7
7
6
5
5
3

for 11 different buildings in Shiraz City. Once the results were

No. of oor

obtained, a discussion pertaining to them was presented.

The central part of the city consists of weak soil layers, espe-
cially low plasticity clay (CL) with a large void ratio; therefore, the
1
2
2
3
4
4
5
5
7
7
10
The specications for selected buildings.

damage factor increases along side the building's age. The broader
New designed and constructed

New designed and constructed

New designed and constructed

New designed and constructed

part of the city consists of granular soils and as such, the damage
Old designed and constructed

Old designed and constructed

Old designed and constructed

factors are smaller in this area than for the central part.
The building vulnerability index Kb, ground vulnerability index
Kg and disaster factor are all inuenced by building design,
Retrotted buildings
Reinforced masonry

building foundations, structural strength and the age of the

Building style

building. The H/V spectral ratio of micro tremors is obtained in a

Old masonry
Old masonry

short time and at a low cost. This ratio can provide valuable in-
formation about the natural frequency, amplication factor and
weak points for all types of soil and structure.
Table 2

This study was able to determine the weak points of ground

H
D

G
A

K
B
C

E
F

I
J

and building structures in order to estimate real earthquake

374 M. Mokhberi / International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 13 (2015) 369374

Table 4
The disaster degree in different regions of Shiraz City as affected by an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale.

City districts Reinforced Formal Poor strength concrete Concrete reinforced , designed with Time-worn steel New constructed steel
masonry masonry reinforced last earthquake code in past structure structure

Region 1 A B B A C A
Region 2 B D D B D B
Region 3 B C C B C B
Region 4 A C C B C B
Region 5 B D D C B
Region 6 A B B A

Fig. 4. A map of safe and vulnerable structures in the selected area. The black zones
are related to high damage, with the gray zones denoting low potential damage to
buildings.
damage prior to an earthquake occurring. The results indicated the
ground vulnerability index Kg, building vulnerability index Kb and
damage factor for ground and buildings; thus, this method can be
used for earthquake disaster mitigation.
A damage distribution map of an urban area can be prepared by
comparing the Kg obtained from microzonation studies and the Kb
suggested in this paper. Estimation of damage can be done accu-
rately and quickly; therefore, this procedure can assist urban
planners to improve buildings and reduce potential disaster
damages.
This method can be improved for a 9 Richter scale earthquake,
as a probabilistic risk analysis, in the case of urban areas in the
future research. Furthermore, future research can complete this
research for different types of buildings, soils, site and earthquake
status.
Acknowledgment
This paper was established through a holding program (project
No. 138-7678) with the support of Islamic Azad University, Es-
tahban branch. The author wishes to thank the University Pre-
sident, Mohsen Zare and the Geotechnical Research Centre. The
author's thanks also go to Fars Road and the Urban Development
Organization for their corporation regarding H/V spectral ratio
data.
References
[1] D. Diagourtas, A. Tzanis, K. Makropoulos, Comparative study of microtremor
analysis methods, In Earthquake Microzoning (2002) 24632479 , Birkhuser
Basel.
[2] D. Fh, E. Rttener, T. Noack, P. Kruspan, Microzonation of the city of Basel, J.
Seismol. 1 (1) (1997) 87102.
[3] M.R. Gallipoli, M. Mucciarelli, S. Gallicchio, M. Tropeano, C. Lizza, Horizontal to
vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) measurements in the area damaged by the 2002
Molise, Italy, earthquake, Earthq. Spectra 20 (S1) (2004) S81S93.
[4] E. Haghshenas, P.-Y. Bard, N. Theodulidis, S.W. Team, Empirical evaluation of
microtremor H/V spectral ratio, Bull. Earthq. Eng. 6 (1) (2008) 75108.
[5] K.A. Hosseini, M. Hosseini, Y.O. Izadkhah, B. Mansouri, T. Shaw, Main chal-
lenges on community-based approaches in earthquake risk reduction: case
study of Tehran, Iran, Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 8 (2014) 114124.
[6] H. Kobayashi, S. Midorikawa, H. Tanzawa, M. Matsubara, Development of
portable measurement system for ambient vibration test of building, J. Struct.
Constr. Eng. 378 (1987) 4856.
[7] K. Konno, T. Ohmachi, Ground-motion characteristics estimated from spectral
ratio between horizontal and vertical components of microtremor, Bull.
Seismol. Soc. Am. 88 (1) (1998) 228241.
[8] C. Lachetl, P.-Y. Bard, Numerical and theoretical investigations on the possi-
bilities and limitations of Nakamura's technique, J. Phys. Earth 42 (5) (1994)
377397.
[9] C. Michel, P. Guguen, S. El Arem, J. Mazars, P. Kotronis, Fullscale dynamic
response of an RC building under weak seismic motions using earthquake
recordings, ambient vibrations and modelling, Earthq. Eng. Struct. Dyn. 39 (4)
(2010) 419441.
[10] M. Mokhberi, M. Davoodi, E. Haghshenas, M. Jafari, Experimental evaluation of
the H/V spectral ratio capabilities in estimating the subsurface layer char-
acteristics, Iran. J. Sci. Technol. Trans. Civil Eng. 37 (C) (2013) 457468.
[11] M. Mokhberi, A. Tadayon, H. Rahnema, Using the H/V Spectral Ratio of Mi-
crotremor for Identication of the Vulnerability of Buildings, Based on Dy-
namic Site Characteristics of the Shiraz City (2010).
[12] M. Mucciarelli, M.R. Gallipoli, M. Arcieri, The stability of the horizontal-to-
vertical spectral ratio of triggered noise and earthquake recordings, Bull.
Seismol. Soc. Am. 93 (3) (2003) 14071412.
[13] M. Mucciarelli, A. Masi, M.R. Gallipoli, P. Harabaglia, M. Vona, F. Ponzo,
M. Dolce, Analysis of RC building dynamic response and soil-building re-
sonance based on data recorded during a damaging earthquake (Molise, Italy,
2002), Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 94 (5) (2004) 19431953.
[14] Y. Nakamura, A method for dynamic characteristics estimation of subsurface
using microtremor on the ground surface, Railway Technical Research In-
stitute, Quarterly Reports, 30 (1) (1989).
[15] Y. Nakamura, Seismic vulnerability indices for ground and structures using
microtremor, World Congress on Railway Research in Florence, Italy (1997).
[16] Y. Nakamura, Clear Identication of Fundamental Idea of Nakamura's Tech-
nique and Its Applications, 12WCEE, 2656, Auckland, New Zealand (2000).
[17] Y. Nakamura, On the H/V spectrum, The 14th World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering, Beijing, China (2008).
[18] A. Panou, N. Theodulidis, P. Hatzidimitriou, K. Stylianidis, C. Papazachos, Am-
bient noise horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio in site effects estimation and
correlation with seismic damage distribution in urban environment: the case
of the city of Thessaloniki (Northern Greece), Soil Dyn. Earthq. Eng. 25 (4)
(2005) 261274.
[19] K. Porter, K. Farokhnia, I. Cho, T. Rossetto, I. Ioannou, D. Grant, K. Jaiswal, D.
Wald, D. DAyala, A. Meslem, Global vulnerability estimation methods for the
Global Earthquake Model, in: Proc. 15th World Conf. Earthq. Eng. (2012) pp.
2428.
[20] K. Porter, K. Jaiswal, D. Wald, M. Greene, C. Comartin, WHEPAGER Project: a
new initiative in estimating global building inventory and its seismic vul-
nerability, in: Proceedings of the 14th World Conference on Earthquake En-
gineering (2008).
[21] F. Scherbaum, K.-G. Hinzen, M. Ohrnberger, Determination of shallow shear
wave velocity proles in the Cologne, Germany area using ambient vibrations,
Geophys. J. Int. 152 (3) (2003) 597612.
[22] M. Trifunac, M. Todorovska, Long period microtremors, microseisms and
earthquake damage: Northridge, CA, earthquake of 17 January 1994, Soil Dyn.
Earthq. Eng. 19 (4) (2000) 253267.
[23] W. Triwulan, D. Utama, D. Warnana, Sungkono, Vulnerability index estimation
for building and ground using microtremor, in: Proceedings of the Aptecs 2nd
International Seminar on Applied Technology, Science and Arts. Graha Sepu-
luh Nopember, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya (2010) pp. 21
22.