An-Najah Staff

Abstract In Palestine (the occupied Palestinian territories - oPt) there are a number of challenges in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), notably natural hazards such as earth¬quakes, floods, desertification and droughts. Seismological studies show that there is a high probability of damaging earthquakes occurring in the region. At the same time, engineering studies show that seismic vulnerability of common buildings and infrastructures in the oPt is high. Major events triggered by climate changes and seismic activ¬ities may become trans-boundary. The objectives of this paper are to help establish a profile of DRR in the oPt and further help identify the needs of the oPt in the field of disaster risk reduction and management. In addition to the risk assessment, a review of existing legislation, capacities and shortages in various areas of needs, strengths and weaknesses in all elements of DRR plus institutional mechanisms towards disaster preparedness and prevention has been carried out. National and international initiatives toward DRR and case studies of (best) practices in the oPt were also reviewed. Historic data on recorded disaster related incidents pertaining to the number of people killed, the number of people affected and the economic loss incurred provides the main criteria for the risk assessment. The recommendations include regional cooperation, improvement/formulation of legislation toward disaster preparedness and prevention, linking policies and operations, coordination of central and local governments, political resolution, awareness and training, integration of DRR and management into national development, and developing a risk management database. Key words: Palestine, Hazards, Risk, Vulnerability, Capacity, Risk, Disaster Management, Risk reduction, Earthquakes, Floods, Need Assessment. .

see the full file here

Two methods are usually available for designing structures subjected to seismic loads. They are equivalent static load method and dynamic analysis method. The dynamic method of analysis is not widely used, but it may be necessary for important structures. Dynamic analysis usually has three phases, defining the expected source of earthquake, evaluating ground surface response spectra taking into account local soil properties, and applying response spectra to proposed structure to evaluate seismic forces. In this paper, the first two phases are discussed. The recent methods in evaluating the ground response that take into account soil properties are presented. This includes sources of earthquakes in Palestine and their characteristics such as earthquake magnitude, predominant period, maximum acceleration, and duration. Furthermore, this paper presents a case study for evaluating ground response spectra using computer program called Shake that may be used to evaluate ground response in Palestine. Key Words: Dynamic Analysis, Earthquakes, Ground Response, Palestine, Shake.