Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction risk: macrozonation of the European territory taking into account exposure

Among natural hazards, earthquakes claim a large number of casualties and economical losses each year around the globe. Excessive deformations of ground surface caused by earthquakes are of great concern in civil engineering, human lives and the environment. Such ground deformations are often associated with a phenomenon of soil instability called earthquake-induced soil liquefaction. Earthquake induced liquefaction disasters at a continental scale are currently addressed within the European research project LIQUEFACT. The University of Pavia (UNIPV) and the European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE) are currently in charge for the definition of a European liquefaction risk map in the European territory (macrozonation). It is worth noting that liquefaction is a local phenomenon, thus the macrozonation of liquefaction risk at a continental scale is a challenge. This paper presents the preliminary deliverables of this activity, i.e. the maps for the European territory of liquefaction risk, computed by convolving soil susceptibility, expected seismic hazard and exposure.