Probabilistic seismic indoor injury estimation
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Most injury models in existence either estimate injuries at a regional level and/or focus only on fatalities. In regions with good engineering practice, the likelihood of building collapse is rare and hence fatality risk is also correspondingly low. Research has shown that in such situations non-fatal injuries are likely to result in larger economic loss than fatalities due to their higher incidence, despite non-fatalities having lower consequence. A new building-specific method of indoor injury estimation is proposed in this paper. Injuries are considered due to: (i) occupants being struck by toppling contents; and (ii) occupants losing balance and falling. This model considers the spatial distribution of occupants in the building, time-occupancy relationships, and the severity of injury to occupants. A simple room layout is used to demonstrate the application of the model.