The May 2012 seismic sequence in Pianura Padana Emiliana: hazard, historical seismicity and preliminary analysis of accelerometric records

Salvatore Paolini, Guido Martini - ENEA, Technical Unit for Radiation Application Development; Bruno Carpani, Massimo Forni - ENEA, Technical Unit for Seismic Engineering; Giovanni Bongiovanni, Paolo Clemente, Dario Rinaldis, Vladimiro Verrubbi - ENEA, Technical Unit for Environmental Characterization, Prevention, and Recovery

The main characteristics of May 2012 seismic sequence have been analyzed. The comparison of data from macroseismic surveys and historical information on the main events that struck the area in the past has shown that the present sequence was the most violent in the last 500 years, highlighting the possible criticality in this sector of the Italian territory seismic hazard assessment. Finally, the analysis of some accelerometric recordings has revealed that the response spectra close to the epicenter exceed technical code design provisions, while heavy damage is also present where response spectra are far lower than code provisions; some considerable damage to both civil and industrial buildings can be explained by the ground motion characteristics