EaRL: An Open-Source Software for Earthquake Risk, Loss and Lifecycle Assessment

Evaluating earthquake-induced losses, such as structural repair costs, downtime and casualties, is becoming a standard practice within the performance-based earthquake engineering framework. Nonetheless, this evaluation is a demanding task that requires defining several components such as seismic hazard, structural response, building contents, damage fragilities and their consequences. This paper introduces EaRL; a recently developed software for evaluating building-specific earthquake risk, loss and life cycle costs. The software employs state-of the-art damage fragilities and loss assessment methodologies including that of FEMA P-58. The software also incorporates an intuitive graphical user-interface, a wide range of data visualization options and collective features that adapt to different users’ preferences when defining the different loss project components. Most importantly, unlike existing software and toolboxes, EaRL provides a well-documented open-source code that is developed entirely in MATLAB and shared through GitHub. This offers practicing engineers and researchers alike with a familiar platform for modifying and further-developing the software’s codebase and functionalities.