What is shown on rapid impact assessments?

Rapid impact assessments show the impact of noticeable or damaging earthquakes on buildings and the associated human and financial losses. Specifically, information is provided on the estimated number of fatalities, injured people and people seeking protection, as well as the extent of damage to buildings and the expected costs due to damage to buildings. The values given are automatically generated estimates. However, the actual extent of the damage may differ considerably from these estimates, and the accuracy of any information is not guaranteed.

For the time being, different occupancy patterns depending on the time of day and seasonal occupancy fluctuations are not taken into account here, nor are human and financial losses resulting from damage to infrastructure (e.g. bridges, railway lines) or secondary damage (e.g. fire, landslides). In addition, rapid impact assessments of aftershocks disregard the damage that has already occurred and any increased vulnerability of buildings due to previous earthquakes. 

Further information on the individual values can be found for each earthquake in the detailed information by clicking on the info boxes or in the PDF of the rapid impact assessment on the second page. For an error-free display, we recommend that you open the PDF files with the free version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader.