Site-Specific Design and Assessment of Structures and Other Built Facilities Preparing for Natural Disasters

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue on the "Site-specific design and assessment of structures and other built facilities preparing for natural disasters" is dedicated to advancing the practice of resilient design with the aim of ensuring that built facilities, including (but not restricted to) buildings and bridges, can withstand and rapidly recover from natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, bushfires, and floods. There will be an emphasis on methodologies used in their design, assessment, or operation which take into account the unique requirements of local conditions through incorporating regional and site-specific factors. Articles in this Special Issue will present newly developed methodologies and/or technologies aimed at improving disaster preparedness and reducing risks for existing and new built facilities. Emerging technologies, including AI, machine learning, deep learning, and remote sensing, that can be leveraged to advance site-specific design, improve early warning systems, and enable rapid assessments are within the scope of this Special Issue. These technologies provide relevant, accurate, and timely information contributing to disaster preparedness and risk management. This Special Issue seeks to foster a more resilient built environment by integrating these technological advancements into engineering practices and will serve as a platform for researchers, engineers, and practitioners to exchange knowledge, share case studies, and discuss innovations that contribute to building a sustainable and resilient built environment. Ultimately, the goal is to mitigate losses, protect lives and property, and ensure the continuous functioning of critical infrastructure both during and in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

We welcome submissions on the following:

1. Site-Specific Design of Built Facilities: the development of methodologies for customising designs to conditions specific to a site to enhance their resilience to natural disasters.
2. Site-Specific Analytical Modelling: the development or refinement of analytical models that incorporate regional and site-specific considerations for predicting damage in a future natural disaster.
3. Maintaining the Post-Disaster Functionality of Built Facilities: Performance-based approaches for assessing the integrity and functionality of built facilities in the aftermath of a disastrous event, aiming at maintaining their functionality post-disaster.
4. Case Studies and Real-World Applications: the presentation of case studies showcasing the implementation of disaster-resilient practices and offering practical insights into the lessons learned.
5. Integration of Emerging Technologies: Examining how emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, deep learning, remote sensing, and telecommunications can contribute to enhancing disaster preparedness, risk reduction, and post-disaster recovery.

Prof. Dr. Nelson Lam
Guest Editor

Prashidha Khatiwada
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
Email: [email protected]
Webpage: https://infrastructure.eng.unimelb.edu.au/people/research-students/civil/prashidha-khatiwada
Interests: structural engineering; earthquake engineering; structural design; earthquake damage assessment

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. CivilEng is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• disaster resilience
• structural resilience
• site-specific design
• site-specific assessment
• disaster preparedness
• post-disaster response and recovery