Earthquakes and Their Impact on Society
This book provides an integrated approach to the assessment of seismic hazards. The reduction of losses expected by future earthquakes is probably the most important contribution of seismology to society. Large earthquakes occurred in densely po
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Sebastiano D’Amico Editor
Earthquakes and Their Impact on Society
Springer Natural Hazards
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10179
Sebastiano D’Amico Editor
Earthquakes and Their Impact on Society
123
Editor Sebastiano D’Amico Department of Geosciences University of Malta Msida Malta
Springer Natural Hazards ISBN 978-3-319-21752-9 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21753-6
ISBN 978-3-319-21753-6
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015947409 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
The destructive potential of earthquakes depends on their magnitude and the placement of the hypocenter. Worldwide efforts in establishing seismological and geophysical networks has increased considerably and data centers provide information that is essential to identify earthquake locations, understand the physics of the earthquakes and faulting mechanisms, as well as studies on site effects and earthquake recurrence. These types of studies play a key role in mitigating earthquake hazards and planning emergency response. However, recent earthquakes demonstrated the risks to modern societies, especially in terms of health, safety, and economic viability. The study of earthquakes combines science, technology, and expertise in infrastructure and engineering in an effort to minimize human and material losses when their occurrence is inevitable. Although probably the most important, direct shaking effects are not the only hazard associated with earthquakes, other effects such as landslides, liquefaction, and tsunamis have also played important part in destruction produced by earthquakes. Most earthquake-related deaths are caused by the collapse of structures, and the construction practices play a tremendo
