REGIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES FOR SEISMIC RISK ASSESSMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Reliable seismic risk assessment requires the systematic organization of information on built assets, taking into account regional construction practices and international approaches. A regional engineering classification of the building stock is proposed for seismic risk assessment in Kazakhstan. The empirical basis comprises building-passportization data for Almaty, combining the 2017–2018 surveys with supplementary work conducted in 2024. Building-stock data, regulatory documents, and findings from engineering investigations of earthquake consequences were used. The classification was organized into a hierarchical framework comprising 22 categories covering residential and public buildings, industrial facilities, and special engineering structures. The scientific novelty lies in formalizing regional categories with consideration of structural characteristics and design seismic resistance, and in developing classification rules for assets with mixed structural systems, reconstructed assets, and assets with insufficient documentation. A distinction is made between the established absence of earthquake-resistant design provisions and unknown design seismic resistance. Load-bearing material and structural system are used to identify structural type, while technical condition, construction period, strengthening, and seismic isolation are considered supplementary attributes. The classification was compared with EMS-98, HAZUS, RISK-UE, and the GEM Building Taxonomy. GOST R 57546-2017 was considered as a framework for assessing seismic intensity and damage to built assets. The classification is intended to harmonize passportization data for urban building stocks, support the development of GIS-based exposure databases, and facilitate the selection of vulnerability models. The Almaty data characterize the structural diversity of the country’s building stock, supporting the potential application of the proposed classification in other regions of Kazakhstan.