Seismic hazard assessment of the coastal area

Abstract

Seismic hazard studies and mapping are useful for design and seismic engineers. This work discusses the use of the probabilistic seismic method to assess the seismic hazard of the coastal area of Syria. The available seismic database for three linear seismic sources, namely the Al-Ghab, Latakia-Killis and Cyprus arc faults, was studied. As a result, seismic hazard maps were prepared for the return periods of 475 and 975 years and the probability of exceeding 10% and 5%, respectively. The results show that the acceleration is increasing northward toward the Lattakia-Killis, and eastward toward the fault of Al-Ghab starting from the coastline. For structural period 0.3s and the probability of exceeding 5%, the highest acceleration value is 633.85 gal for Slenfeh city. The derived maps are very important to mitigate the potential seismic risk in the study area.