Actual Repair Costs of RC Building Components Damaged by the L'Aquila Earthquake (2009)

Recent seismic events demonstrated the high vulnerability of existing buildings and the significant damage experienced by structural and non - structural components. The recovery of earthquake stricken community passed through large reconstruction processes and involved massive economic and social resources . The building restoration process followed to the L’Aquila earthquake (2009) consisted in repair and retrofit or demolition and reconstruction of damaged buildings . This was also the occasion for monitorin g and collecting the actual repair/retrofit costs of private residential buildings ou tside the historical center. The s e data were later used to calibrate the new Italian seismic risk classification of constructions rating the building seismic performance c onsidering both structural safety and expected annual losses. This paper illustrates the actual repair costs of reinfo rced concrete (RC) buildings that experienced different damage levels. An in depth analysis of the building characteristics and the observed damage to structural and non - structural components is performed. The repair cost estimates submitted and a pproved for funding request of 63 RC case study buildings are analyzed in detail. The repair costs, their variabilit y and the correlation with earthquake damage is reported at component level. A focus on non - structural components (i.e. infill and partitions, acceleration or drift sensitive ), is provided. Preliminary analyses outlines that the repair cost of hollow clay brick infill and partitions ranges between the 32 % to 44 % of the total repair cost. They represents the majority of the total repair costs and this needs to be properly considered in loss - assessment procedures or in the design of resilient retrofit solutio ns