Abstract:

This work is part of a multi-parametric research towards representation of damage scenarios in the
Lefkada old town. The study area lies in the most seismically active zone of the Greek territory. Most
of its buildings were built with local practices and have been designated by the European Council
Cultural Heritage Unit as representative earthquake resistant constructions. The August 14th, 2003
(Mw=6.2) local earthquake produced several damage in the old town of Lefkada, with an
inhomogeneous spatial distribution. In this paper we investigate the correlation of the observed
damage pattern with soil characteristics using data collected during an ambient noise survey conducted
in 2007. Those were analyzed following Nakamura's HVSR methodology and soil response was
approximated by the dominant frequencies and quasi-amplification factors of the resulted HVSR
curves. The latter were further inverted using a Monte-Carlo approach and best-fitting site specific
geotechnical models were determined. The obtained results are reasonably consistent with borehole
test data and show a remarkably good correlation with the 2003 damage distribution.

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