Eathquake vulnerability

Throughout the world, each earthquake - prone community's vulnerability, or susceptibility to damage form earthquake ground shaking, ground failure, surface fault rupture, regional tectonic deformation, tsunamis and aftershocks is growing rapidly as a result of either a lack of public policy, of flaws in public policy. These mistakes have led incrementally over time to inadequate consideration by many communities of the need for planning, siting, design, construction, quality control and use. These oversights have become the root causes of unacceptable risk to individual elements of the built environment and the overall unacceptable risk to the community. The 21st century presents the most opportune moment ever to correct these flaws and to reduce community vulnerability because of advances made during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). For the first time, more professionals, policy makers and stakeholders are collaborating than ever before, and every earthquake - prone community has access to scientific and technical data needed to anticipate the consequences of earthquakes and to form public policy for reducing community vulnerability. The 1990s have seen an increase in the technical capacity, desire to collaborate, capability to anticipate, and political will to change public policies. Seismic zonation, a policy tool that can be used to link risk assessment and risk management, is now available to every earthquake - prone community. Seismic zonation calls for anticipation (i.e. mitigation and preparedness measures) instead of reaction (response and recovery), integration (i.e. linking risk assessment with risk management) instead of fragmentation, and public - private partnerships instead of individual efforts to promote reduction of community vulnerability as public value. The most effective course of action now is for every earthquake - prone community to call for public policies that: 1) stop increasing the risk as a new development are added to the built environment inventory, 2) start decreasing the risk to the existing built environment , and 3) continue planning for the inevitable earthquake. (AU)

The role of postearthquake investigations in the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program

Data and basic knowledge gained from postearthquake investigation conducted under the auspices of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) have advanced the state - of - knowledge and state od practice in earthquake engineering. These advances have led to significant changes in public policy, focused research and accelerated the adoption of improved mitigation, preparedness, emergency response, and recovery measures in communities throughout the United Stated. Many countries throughout the world have benefited from investigations made during the past decade (AU)

Data acquisition for earthquake hazard mitigation

Immediately after a damaging earthquake (such as, for example, the September 19, 1985, Spitak (SSR) earthquake), data should be collected in five basic categories: geologic studies, sismological studies, engineering seismology studies, engineering studies, and societal studies. These data can be used in windows of opportunity provided by the event to: Change professional practices of siting, design, and construction; Expand the capability for hazard and risk assessment; Increase public awareness of hazards and risk. Such actions will over time transform the tragedy of a devastated community into an opportunity to make the urban center less vulnerable to future earthquake occurrences