Abstract
Strategic public buildings must be made as efficient as possible to allow for emergency operations, like search and rescue activities, taking care of victims, and evacuation. Looks at strategic public buildings as part of urban and regional systems. Addresses factors such as physical vulnerability to a seismic event, location, accessibility, interaction with the soil, links with other public facilities, and the way the latter are used under normal conditions. Considers whether public facilities can continue providing their service under stressful conditions, even when a certain degree of physical damage has been suffered by structures or by medical equipment. The health‐care system has been chosen as a key test field: the result is a framework which helps assess the vulnerability of hospitals serving an area prone to seismic risk.