Abstract:
The authors investigated building damage conditions as a result of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in five areas
of Galle, Matara, and Hambantota, Sri Lanka. This paper presents tsunami vulnerability functions for the
buildings, a relationship between building damage and inundation, in the country. In order to develop the
functions, the authors used 1,535 building damage data in terms of structural types, solid (mainly reinforced
concrete) and non-solid (masonry and timber-frame), and 166 inundation height data obtained by the field
surveys. The developed fragility curves are compared with other curves previously developed by other
researchers, and those future usages are discussed.
