HR: 18:05h
AN: S24A-08    [Abstracts]
TI: The role of seismic microzoning within the disaster prevention in Venezuela
AU: * Malave, G
EM: gmalave@funvisis.gob.ve
AF: Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (FUNVISIS), Caracas, Venezuela
AB: Due to the experience of the strong rainfalls which experienced great parts of Venezuela in early 2005, a national commission for risk management (CNGR) was created, that is composed by representatives from the Ministry of Interior and Justice, the Ministry of Environment, Defense Ministry, Infrastructure Ministry, Habitát and Housing Ministry and Science and Tecnology Ministry. The participation of the different ministries, which are represented by institutions related to hidrometeorological research and slope stability, amongst others, enables to focuss the risk management from anintegrated point of view. Within this commission, FUNVISIS, the official agency for seismological investigations, represents the Science and Tecnology Ministry and is responsible for the actions to be taken to reduce the seismic risk. A plan to reduce the seismic hazard and vulnerability, presented by FUNVISIS, was approved by the commission, in order to establish state policies to minimize the impact to the comunities in case of the ocurrence of an earthquake. Therein, seismic microzoning studies are addressed as the methodology to follow in order to reduce the seismic risk, which includes the evaluation of regional conditions (fault ocurrences, source characteristics, attenuation) as well as the knowledge of the local conditions (wave propagation, geological conditions, site effects). The interdisciplinary methods used within the microzoning studies (joint work done by geologists, geophysicists, civil engineers, arquitects, teachers) enable to address the results of the studies in away that they can be assimilated by the communities that live in the respective urban areas as well as by the local governments. Recommendations to local buiding codes as well as training of the communities take an important part within the projects.
DE: 6615 Legislation and regulations (6324)
DE: 7212 Earthquake ground motions and engineering seismology
DE: 9360 South America
SC: Seismology [S]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly