Scientific Damage Assessment Methodology and Practical Applications

When properly designed as a scientific experiment, assessing the performance of a population of buildings following a natural disaster can lead to new insights and objective findings that cannot be obtained from traditional damage surveys. The main feature in a scientific damage assessment methodology pertains to the manner by which a representative sample of buildings is selected for study. This feature allows statistical analyses to be performed in relation to building characteristics, loading parameters, and observed performance. Robustness of cause-effect relationships and frequency of various types and levels of damage can be characterized by mean and variance as well as confidence limits in relation to the sampled building population. Because building performance data is collected following principles of scientific method, it has many useful applications for engineering sciences, risk analysis, and public policy.