In 1998 Armenia was commemorating the tenth anniversary of the catastrophic Spitak earthquake. The Second International Conference on "Earthquake Hazard and Seismic Risk Reduction" sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Armenia and United Nation's International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (UN/IDNDR) was held in dedication to that event between 14-21 September (later referred to as Yerevan Conference). The Yerevan Conference has been organized by the National Survey for Seismic Protection (NSSP) of the Republic of Armenia. All level's decision-makers (from the ministers to the local authorities), politicians, scientists, leaders of the executive and legislative powers, psychologists, leading businessmen, representatives from the private sector and the media as well as from the International Organizations have been invited by the Armenian NSSP to take part in joint discussion of the Seismic Risk Reduction Problem for the first time in the history of such forums. Armenian NSSP's such initiative has been triggered by the experience of the Spitak earthquake and other disasters. They showed that it will be possible to reduce the risks, posed by the natural disaster, only through the common efforts of all the community in co-operation with the International institutions.

Encompassing theory and field experience, this book covers all the main subject areas in earthquake risk reduction, ranging from geology, seismology, structural and soil dynamics to hazard and risk assessment, risk management and planning, engineering and the architectural design of new structures and equipment. Earthquake Risk Reduction outlines individual national weaknesses that contribute to earthquake risk to people and property; calculates the seismic response of soils and structures, using the structural continuum 'Subsoil - Substructure - Superstructure - Non-structure'; evaluates the effectiveness of given designs and construction procedures for reducing casualties and financial losses; provides guidance on the key issue of choice of structural form; presents earthquake resistant designs methods for the four main structural materials - steel, concrete, reinforced masonry and timber - as well as for services equipment, plant and non-structural architectural components; contains a chapter devoted to problems involved in improving (retrofitting) the existing built environment. Compiled from the author's extensive professional experience in earthquake engineering, this key text provides an excellent treatment of the complex multidisciplinary process of earthquake risk reduction. This book will prove an invaluable reference and guiding tool to practicing civil and structural engineers and architects, researchers and postgraduate students in seismology, local governments and risk management officials.

This book contains the best contributions presented during the 6th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering and the 2nd National Conference on Earthquake Engineering and Seismology - 6CNIS & 2CNISS, that took place on June 14-17, 2017 in Bucharest - Romania, at the Romanian Academy and Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest. The book offers an updated overview of seismic hazard and risk assessment activities, with an emphasis on recent developments in Romania, a very challenging case study because of its peculiar intermediate-depth seismicity and evolutive code-compliant building stock. Moreover, the book collects input of renowned scientists and professionals from Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and United Kingdom.The content of the book focuses on seismicity of Romania, geotechnical earthquake engineering, structural analysis and seismic design regulations, innovative solutions for seismic protection of building structures, seismic risk evaluation, resilience-based assessment of structures and management of emergency situations. The sub-chapters consist of the best papers of 6CNIS & 2CNISS selected by the International Advisory and Scientific Committees. The book is targeted at researchers and experts in seismic hazard and risk, evaluation and rehabilitation of buildings and structures, insurers and re-insurers, and decision makers in the field of emergency situations and recovery activities.

Earthquake Hazard, Risk, and Disasters presents the latest scientific developments and reviews of research addressing seismic hazard and seismic risk, including causality rates, impacts on society, preparedness, insurance and mitigation. The current controversies in seismic hazard assessment and earthquake prediction are addressed from different points of view. Basic tools for understanding the seismic risk and to reduce it, like paleoseismology, remote sensing, and engineering are discussed.

Earthquake Hazard and Risk is a book summarizing selected papers presented at the 27th General Assembly of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (Wellington, January 1994). The papers, rigorously scrutinized by an international board of referees, cover some recent aspects of current research in earthquake hazard and seismic risk. They address the algorithms and methodology used in seismological applications, the reliability of these techniques with the decreasing level of probability and uncertainty associated with various seismotectonic settings, the physical and statistical nature of earthquake occurrences, strong ground motions and effects of surface seismogeological conditions. A special effort has been made to include papers that illustrate the assessment of earthquake hazard and seismic risk through applications at sites in either inter-plate or intra-plate tectonic settings. Of particular interest is hazard assessment in regions of rare large earthquakes. The book is suitable for those interested in earthquake hazard and seismic risk research as well as a more general audience of seismologists, geophysicists and Earth scientists. It is also useful for authorities responsible for public safety and natural hazard mitigation plans and for insurance companies.

The United States will certainly be subject to damaging earthquakes in the future. Some of these earthquakes will occur in highly populated and vulnerable areas. Coping with moderate earthquakes is not a reliable indicator of preparedness for a major earthquake in a populated area. The recent, disastrous, magnitude-9 earthquake that struck northern Japan demonstrates the threat that earthquakes pose. Moreover, the cascading nature of impacts-the earthquake causing a tsunami, cutting electrical power supplies, and stopping the pumps needed to cool nuclear reactors-demonstrates the potential complexity of an earthquake disaster. Such compound disasters can strike any earthquake-prone populated area. National Earthquake Resilience presents a roadmap for increasing our national resilience to earthquakes. The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) is the multi-agency program mandated by Congress to undertake activities to reduce the effects of future earthquakes in the United States. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-the lead NEHRP agency-commissioned the National Research Council (NRC) to develop a roadmap for earthquake hazard and risk reduction in the United States that would be based on the goals and objectives for achieving national earthquake resilience described in the 2008 NEHRP Strategic Plan. National Earthquake Resilience does this by assessing the activities and costs that would be required for the nation to achieve earthquake resilience in 20 years. National Earthquake Resilience interprets resilience broadly to incorporate engineering/science (physical), social/economic (behavioral), and institutional (governing) dimensions. Resilience encompasses both pre-disaster preparedness activities and post-disaster response. In combination, these will enhance the robustness of communities in all earthquake-vulnerable regions of our nation so that they can function adequately following damaging earthquakes. While National Earthquake Resilience is written primarily for the NEHRP, it also speaks to a broader audience of policy makers, earth scientists, and emergency managers.

A unique interdisciplinary approach to disaster risk research, including global hazards and case-studies, for researchers, graduate students and professionals.