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As a result of awareness of the increasing school accidents in recent years and severe damage to school infrastructure by Typhoon Morakot, this paper seeks to discuss the current natural disaster prevention education strategy in Taiwan and investigates the seriously damaged schools from Typhoon Morakot.

Methods of analysis used in this paper include aerial photo interpretation of landslides and debris flows with the aid of field investigation and spatial rainfall distribution by GIS analysis. Additionally, the reasons attributed to the schools’ damages and disaster prevention education strategies in schools after Morakot are discussed.

After an overall review of the current disaster prevention education programs, the following items are to be stressed in disaster prevention education as a result of studying the effects of Typhoon Morakot: integration of disaster prevention education into formal school curricula; teacher training for campus disaster prevention education; development of a coalition of campus and community‐based disaster management; and study of the impact of climate change and school vulnerability. School infrastructure safety evaluation and risk assessment, education materials and design activities for psychological recovery after disasters, and the connection of school safety management and community‐based disaster prevention are deemed urgent after Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.

The current achievements of disaster prevention education in Taiwan include the development of operation and support mechanisms, curricula development and experimental schools selection, development of teacher training program, the popularization of disaster prevention education, the development and use of learning materials, and the determination of an effective assessment mechanism. It is expected that disaster prevention education will become part of the formal school curricula. School safety and vulnerability assessments as a result of climate change and student psychological recovery following disasters are urgent lessons to be implemented after learning from the results of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of place attachment and risk perception with bounded rationality on the willingness to live in a high-earthquake-risk area.

The study establishes a hypothetical model on the basis of the theory of planned behavior, place attachment and risk perception. A structural equation model (SEM) measures the relationships between the variables.

Place attachment affects individuals and their preferences; it makes them willing to continue living in high-earthquake-risk areas. Additionally, risk perception with bounded rationality (fatalism and optimism bias) might make people believe there is only a slight risk of physical injury or property damage. The overall findings moderately suggest that land-use regulations along fault zone areas are not necessarily driving households away, and such allowance of residential use in the current zoning regulation might mislead people that it is a safe area.

This study uses questionnaires in fault zone-regulated areas where only the fault line has zoning regulations. In addition, the application of SEM has to build upon theory and further examine both direct and indirect effects. The assessment criteria of the model might be limited by the sample amount, causing certain model-fitting results, which are not that significant. The overall findings might be limited by the geographical location and cannot be generalized to other areas in Taiwan.

A more thorough assessment of land-use planning in earthquake-risk areas should consider households’ risk perceptions and adaptation behaviors.

Land-use regulations along fault zone areas might reveal earthquake risk in such areas or mislead people that it is a safe area. Place attachment and risk perceptions might affect individuals’ judgments of whether such risk exists or not. The results could be referred to disaster management in high-earthquake-risk areas.

Near-fault pulse-like ground motions have distinct and very severe effects on reinforced concrete (RC) structures. However, there is a paucity of recorded data from Near-Fault Ground Motions (NFGMs), and thus forecasting the dynamic seismic response of structures, using conventional techniques, under such intense ground motions has remained a challenge.

The present study utilizes a 2D finite element model of an RC structure subjected to near-fault pulse-like ground motions with a focus on the storey drift ratio (SDR) as the key demand parameter. Five machine learning classifiers (MLCs), namely decision tree, k-nearest neighbor, random forest, support vector machine and Naïve Bayes classifier , were evaluated to classify the damage states of the RC structure.

The results such as confusion matrix, accuracy and mean square error indicate that the Naïve Bayes classifier model outperforms other MLCs with 80.0% accuracy. Furthermore, three MLC models with accuracy greater than 75% were trained using a voting classifier to enhance the performance score of the models. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the model's resilience and dependability.

The objective of the current study is to predict the nonlinear storey drift demand for low-rise RC structures using machine learning techniques, instead of labor-intensive nonlinear dynamic analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the main prerequisites which are deemed for successful disaster mitigation activities in megacities by considering various aspects related to disaster risk reduction.

The paper provides a general background with regard to the social and cultural patterns for involving local people to participate in the activities related to awareness raising before, and saving their lives and properties after the earthquakes. It then defines what is required for preparing disaster scenarios.

Prerequisites of comprehensive response plans, to be used in the aftermath of earthquakes in large cities, are discussed.

There is a lack of complete information, with regard to various social, and cultural aspects of disaster mitigation, in developing countries, such as Iran.

By following the steps mentioned and discussed in the paper for disaster mitigation planning and applying the proposed measures, the neighbourhoods in megacities can define and manage the activities better – which is crucial for saving lives in the aftermath of large earthquakes.

The paper details the requirements that are necessary for successful disaster mitigation activities in large cities and the difficulties and challenges which can be faced in encountering them.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of building codes in earthquake risk mitigation in Taiwan.

Using probabilistic risk analysis tools with available data, this study assesses the exceedance probability of extensive damage limit for general buildings in their 50‐year useful lives. The buildings were classified into 15 categories according to their construction materials and building height. Then, the effects of construction materials, building height and construction years are detected.

The exceedance probabilities of extensive damage limit for all of the investigated buildings in their 50‐year useful lives are on the order of 10⁻². The effect of construction materials and building height on seismic risk of buildings is decreasing with the development of a seismic design code. Significant discrepancy of seismic risk still exists among some buildings.

Seismic risk analysis requires quite restrictive statistical idealizations for the relevant probabilistic terms in the mathematical formulation. The problem of imperfect simplification and lack of sufficient empirical data has shown the research needs for improvements of seismic risk assessment. The questions of what constitutes acceptable risk for various performance levels and how safe is safe enough remain context‐specific.

Although probabilistic risk analysis provides a tool for quantifying the probability of structural failure, current earthquake‐resistant design procedures do not relate performance levels to probability. The paper explores some probability information for current earthquake‐resistant design for general buildings during their 50‐year useful lives and the information may provide some valuable information for future code calibration.

The aim of this article is to present a new, simple applicable method of inferring and assessing residential construction quality at an industry‐wide level.

Construction quality is measured using ratios of structural materials to production levels. Cement and reinforcing bar per 1,000m² of residential floor space are the metrics, especially appropriate in Taiwan as new dwelling units (virtually all apartments and row houses) and all of reinforced concrete. Complementary measurements of quality for labour and non‐structural construction material inputs were also made.

The structural input and complementary measures indicate that the quality of Taiwanese residential construction declines dramatically and consistently at higher production levels. The implication is that dwelling units from the 1990s construction boom are especially at risk.

The methods cannot be used to identify specific buildings at risk. The methods are difficult to apply in situations where construction methods and residential types are heterogeneous.

Construction quality can be monitored on a regular basis so industry‐wide steps can be taken if quality declines appear. The evidence is consistent with Taiwan's sub‐contractor network enabling rapid expansions and contractions at the expense of hidden quality failure.

This paper provides information that could lead to much firmer regulatory systems, hence has the potential to help save lives and property.

Taiwan is located between the world's largest landmass, the continent of Asia, and its largest ocean, the Pacific Ocean. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the island of Taiwan, giving it a subtropical and tropical oceanic climate. High temperatures and rainfall and strong winds characterize the climate. Because of Taiwan's position in the Asian monsoon region, its climate is greatly influenced by monsoons as well as by its own complicated topography. The annual mean temperatures in the lowlands are 22–25°C, and the monthly mean temperature exceeds 20°C for eight months starting with April each year. The period from June to August is the hottest season with mean temperatures of 27–29°C. Temperatures are cooler between November and March; in most places, the coldest monthly mean temperature is above 15°C. The climate is mild rather than cold and temperatures only fall dramatically when a cold front affects the region. Average annual rainfall in the lowlands of Taiwan is in the range of 1,600–2,500mm. Due to the influences of topography and the monsoon climate, the rainfall differs greatly with different areas and seasons. In mountainous areas, average rainfall may exceed 4,000mm/yr. Rainfall is generally higher in mountainous areas than in lowland areas, higher in the east than in the west, and higher on windward slopes than on the leeward side. The northeast monsoon prevails during the winter; this is the rainy season in the north though rainfall is not intense. But the same winter period is the dry season in the south. During the summer, the southwest monsoon prevails, often giving rise to convective thunderstorms and bringing intense and copious rainfall. With added downpours brought by typhoons, this season often accounts for over 50% of annual rainfall in the south so that central and southern regions often suffer greatly. Relative humidity on the island of Taiwan, surrounded by ocean, is high, usually measuring in the range of 78–85%. In the north, relative humidity is higher during winter than during summer. The situation in the south is the opposite. Over the past 100 years, the rainfall in the north has increased, while the rainfall in the south has decreased. The trend is not as consistent as that of the temperature change (Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, R.O.C. (Taiwan), 2002).

The purpose of this study is to explore the seismic damage mechanism of the Dayemaling Bridge during the Maduo earthquake and discuss the seismic damage characteristics of the high-pier curved girder bridge.

In this study, the numerical simulation method is used to analyze the seismic response using synthetic near-field ground motion records.

The near-field ground motion of the Maduo earthquake has an obvious directional effect, it is more likely to cause bridge seismic damage. Considering the longitudinal slope of the bridge and adopting the continuous girder bridge form, the beam end displacement of the curved bridge can be effectively reduced, and the collision force of the block and the bending moment of the pier bottom are reduced, so the curved bridge with longitudinal slope is adopted.

Combined with the seismic damage phenomenon of bridges in real earthquakes, the seismic damage mechanism and vulnerability characteristics of high-pier curved girder bridges are discussed by the numerical simulation method, which provides technical support for the application of such bridges in high seismic intensity areas.