CGFDM3D-EQR; a platform for rapid response to earthquake disasters in 3D complex media

Earthquake disasters cause serious losses of human life and property. A rapid response platform for earthquake disasters can provide scientific suggestions for real-time postearthquake rescue deployment, reducing losses. We developed an earthquake response platform named CGFDM3D-EQR that quickly provides earthquake intensity for evaluating complex earthquake disasters. The intensity evaluations are derived from strong ground motion simulations that couple 3D complexities in elevation, medium structure, and earthquake source. The curved grid finite difference method (CG-FDM), which can accurately resolve 3D complexities during earthquake simulation, is adopted in this platform. We developed a CG-FDM parallel algorithm for strong ground motion simulation based on central processing unit (CPU) and graphical processing unit (GPU) heterogeneous architectures. With these characteristics, the platform can simulate strong earthquake ground motions and provide seismic intensity assessments in less than 30 min using our cluster. To verify the platform, we performed four simulations, and the results show that our platform is reliable and efficient. Owing to its user-friendly features and high efficiency, the CGFDM3D-EQR platform can play essential roles in seismic hazards responses, scenario earthquake evaluations, and related applications.