ABSTRACT
The public expects a certain level of safety when using commercial, institutional, or residential buildings. Public safety is managed through the systematic assessment and mitigation of risk. The concept of risk is used to characterize the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome or event. Risk is based on the probabilities of hazard occurrence and resulting consequences, and is often separated into three components (as shown in Figure 15.1): The three components of risk: hazards, vulnerabilities, and consequences https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203106464/92881569-07eb-4a72-b726-b91a1577e524/content/fig15_1_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
Hazards are events with the potential to cause unwanted consequences.
Vulnerabilities are characteristics of the building that render the building susceptible to damage due to hazard occurrence.
Consequences are the results of the hazard and vulnerabilities that reflect the level, duration, and nature of the loss, such as building damage or collapse, personal injury or loss of life, economic and property losses, interrupted operations, and damage to the environment. The consequences of an event can be measured in terms of a value system or metric. Consequences of the failure of a tall building can be catastrophic and are generally categorized as human impacts (public health and safety), economic impacts (direct and indirect effects), psychological impact (public confidence), and functional impact (continuation of operations; see FEMA 426/BIPS 06 2011). As a result, extra care should be given to managing the risk and mitigating the vulnerabilities of tall buildings.
