Performance of Masonry Buildings during the 2002 Molise, Italy, Earthquake

The 2002 Molise, Italy, earthquake struck a relatively limited geographical area where the communities are mainly agrarian. While most buildings in the region are masonry, there are significant differences in the type of masonry construction, as material characteristics and construction practices had changed over the centuries. This paper focuses on the masonry buildings that predominate in domestic construction. The most significant features that contributed to the damage pattern appear to be (1) construction criteria, techniques, and details that were inadequate for seismically active areas, particularly in buildings constructed or substantially modified over the past 100 years, and (2) site effects resulting from differences in amplification and frequency of the vibrations that locally increased the destructiveness of the earthquake. The observed damage did not correlate to the vulnerability that would be assigned to the structures under the European Macroseismic Scale.