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LIBRIS project : Contribution to seismic hazard assessment in Lebanon
Multidisciplinary scientific collaboration between France and Lebanon, whose aim is to work on the different aspects of seismic risk.
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Coordinator : C. Voisin
ISTerre teams involved :
– Seismic cycles and transient deformations
– Risks and Environmental Geophysics
National collaborations :
– Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP)
– Centre d’Etudes Techniques de l’Environnement, CETE Meditérranée
– Environnements DYnamiques et TErritoires de Montagne (EDYTEM), Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Chambéry
Collaborations internationales :
- Centre de Recherches Géophysiques (CRG) du CNRS Libanais, Liban
- Université St Joseph, Beyrouth, Liban
- American University of Beirut, Liban
LIBRIS proposes a multidisciplinary scientific collaboration between France and Lebanon, the aim of which is to work on the different aspects of seismic risk : Alea (earthquake physics, crustal tomography, paleoseismology, geodesy, site effects assessment ; PSHA) ; Vulnerabilities (site-structure and soil/structure/soil interactions, public perception of risk by the population, public policy, crisis management, urban planning, reconstruction). Lebanon is a small country in the Middle East whose active tectonics are governed by the Levant Fault.
The latter forms a transpressive elbow in Lebanon and is divided into three branches, all ready to break into a major earthquake : the Roûm fault (1837), the Yammoûneh drop (1202), the Rachaya-Serghaya fault (1759) on land, and the Beirut-Tripoli overlap at sea (551).
Lebanon’s rich and complex geological history makes it difficult to identify the most active faults, and where the next disaster will occur. For example, two recent crises have occurred in the Tyre and Damour regions, 20 km to the south
from Beirut. The seismic risk is not well known in Lebanon, as earthquakes of magnitude 5 to 6 can occur anywhere in the country. The seismic risk in Lebanon is probably the highest in the entire Mediterranean region. In addition, the
population growth is concentrated in two or three urban centres with sustained development. Among these centres, Beirut (more than 2.5 million inhabitants), Tripoli (500,000h) and Tyre (100,000h) account for 70% of the population.
These fast-growing centres have increased the stakes and human vulnerability to earthquakes. In addition, the absence of seismic rules until recently, the systematic lack of controls, damage caused by wars and conflicts, corrosion problems, and structural changes in the
buildings have increased physical vulnerability. Although there is no seismic scenario for Beirut, specialists agree on the occurrence of a national disaster in Lebanon, with many victims and severe damage to the country.
– To know more : project website