The seismic vulnerability of a building is a magnitude that allows quantifying the type of structural damage, the mode of failure and the resistant capacity of a structure under probable earthquake conditions.

Seismic vulnerability quantifies the probability that a building will be damaged due to a seismic event due to its characteristics: structural typology, structural material, height or number of floors, year of construction, etc.[1] Seismic hazard is the magnitude that quantifies the risk due to the geographical area in which the building is located. Both the seismic vulnerability of a building, the seismic danger associated with its location, as well as the potential seismic damage, contribute to quantifying the seismic risk associated with a complex.

In this way, two buildings identical in their physical characteristics will present an equivalent seismic vulnerability, but a seismic danger that will depend on the location of the location.

Seismic vulnerability is the area of ​​work of seismic engineering whose objective is to reduce seismic risk taking into account the costs and principles of structural engineering.

The current procedure to determine the seismic vulnerability of a building is based on the study of its capacity curve through a "pushover" analysis that consists of applying a static force of increasing value so that a curve is obtained that relates the force to the displacement. From this curve and through a statistical analysis, its fragility curve is obtained.