Vulnerability Assessment in the Context of Earthquake Resilience: Case Study of Bayraklı, İzmir, Turkey

Earthquakes, among all natural hazards, have historically caused the most devastating impacts in Turkey, accounting for the majority of disaster-related casualties. Besides its historical and economic importance, Bayraklı is a district of İzmir with high disaster risk and a high concentration of building stock that is vulnerable to earthquake hazards. This study aims to assess the earthquake vulnerability of the district and was implemented at the neighborhood scale, covering all neighborhoods of Bayraklı (24 neighborhoods). A comprehensive vulnerability assessment encompassed three dimensions: physical vulnerability, social vulnerability, and physical capacity of the built environment. Based on expert evaluations through the AHP method, the relative importance of criteria regarding earthquake vulnerability was revealed. Vulnerability maps for each main dimension were combined in a final vulnerability map of the study area revealing the most vulnerable neighborhoods, which include Çay, Çiçek, Alpaslan, Bayraklı, Muhittin Erener, and Tepekule respectively. The findings showcasing the most influential factors of vulnerability and the most vulnerable regions allow for tailored interventions that can promote strategies to reduce Bayraklı's vulnerability to earthquake hazard.