Using Open-Access data in the development of Exposure datasets of Industrial buildings for Earthquake Risk modelling

Recent developments in volunteered geographic information (VGI), such as the OpenStreetMap initiative, highlight the potential of these data sets as supplementary or alternative sources of spatially based building information. Its increase in usefulness is particularly evident when combined with additional open-access data, such as the CORINE initiative, which provides the geo-referenced distribution of non-residential areas in Europe. However, the systematic application of VGI in the development of exposure models for catastrophe risk assessment has been the subject of limited research. In this paper, we describe an algorithm that, based on open-access information, provides an automated tool for the development of exposure data sets of industrial buildings in Europe, at the 30 arc-second resolution. Its practical application shows that results obtained at national and regional scales are in excellent agreement with data collected from cadastral agencies in Denmark, Italy, and Portugal; which highlights the potential of the algorithm when real building information is scarce or non-existent.