PSI - Issue 78

Guerino Liberatore et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 78 (2026) 1071–1078

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competence, the EU supports joint exercises, expert deployments, and logistical hubs (e.g., in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia). The EU model is built around horizontal integration and cross-border cooperation, ensuring cohesive responses to large-scale disasters. Italy’s system follows the Disaster Management Cycle: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The Civil Protection system reflects this structure. Recently, ANSFISA launched the Safety Management System for Road and Highway Infrastructures (SGS-ISA) guidelines (De Bartolomeo et al., 2023), providing a governance framework for infrastructure operators. These aim to standardize procedures and promote collaboration between public and private entities. However, Italy still faces operational challenges due to fragmentation between national operators (like ANAS and Highway concessionaires) and local authorities, which often lack technical capacity. This results in gaps in timeliness, interoperability, and coordination during emergencies. 4. Post-earthquake rapid damage assessment protocols Rapid damage assessment is fundamental immediately after an earthquake to address the most urgent needs and optimize resource allocation, avoiding duplication of efforts. Protocols typically involve assembling a team of trained personnel and local experts capable of assessing the situation on the ground and collecting data. Key steps include prioritizing the most affected areas based on the severity of the damage and the number of people involved, focusing on those areas first. It is essential to collect data on the extent of damage to infrastructure (roads, bridges, public structures such as hospitals and schools) and on the needs of the affected population (e.g., injured, displaced, need for shelter, food, water). The use of standardized questionnaires or tools ensures consistent and comparable data collection across different locations and over time. The safety of the assessment team is always an absolute priority. 4.1. Detailed assessments in the international context For highway bridges, the post-earthquake response often involves several levels of assessment. "Preliminary Bridge Damage Assessments" (PBDA) are initiated by the regional engineer in the affected area. These involve visual inspections of all bridges within a radius of concern, which varies based on the earthquake magnitude. The primary objective is to immediately identify and close bridges that appear unsafe. Subsequently, "Special Post-Earthquake Bridge Damage Assessments" (SPEBI) are conducted by certified bridge inspectors and, if necessary, by engineers with specialized skills. These assessments are performed on bridges considered critically important, those with reported damage during PBDA, or those with a high seismic vulnerability rating. SPEBI lead to detailed investigations, structural or geotechnical analyses, and the design of repair or retrofitting schemes. The process involves daily reporting with digital photos and electronic data transmission to the regional structural engineer. The structured and multi-level approach to post-earthquake damage assessment for road infrastructure reflects a pragmatic understanding of resource limitations and the urgency of restoring critical "lifelines." By rapidly identifying immediate hazards and systematically evaluating more complex damage to high-priority resources, authorities can optimize recovery efforts and minimize disruptions to emergency services and the economy in general. This highlights a deliberate strategy of triage and resource allocation in disaster response. 4.2. Detailed assessments in the italian context Following a seismic event, Italian infrastructure operators initiate "extraordinary inspections" to assess structural integrity and determine necessary interventions. These procedures are based on a "magnitude-distance" relationship: concentric circles are drawn around the epicenter, with radii increasing based on the earthquake's magnitude (see Fig.1). Technical teams are then dispatched to these identified areas to conduct rapid inspections for damage to road infrastructure and engineering structures. After their assessment, the operator immediately informs the Civil Protection Department of any damage or malfunctions requiring urgent action. However, unlike the railway sector, road operators do not immediately suspend