Earthquake Hazard Mitigation
Earthquakes are inevitable. Earthquakes cause damage. No place can be considered absolutely safe as far as earthquakes are concerned. Prediction of earthquake occurrence is not a science yet, though some earthquakes have been successfully predicted. However, considerable progress has occurred in the study of earthquakes on the one hand and engineering design practices on the other to mitigate the hazards arising from earthquakes. Large engineering structures can now be designed to withstand the effects of earthquakes, provided such effects can be described, and quantified, for use in design. A Design, which has been arrived at by accommodating earthquake loads, are called Aseismic Design. Well designed and constructed structures can withstand moderate to strong earthquakes with minimal damage, but critical structures like large dams and nuclear power plants have to be designed to be able to withstand the worst possible consequences of an earthquake without compromising on public safety. Aseismic design of such structures involves detailed investigations in the area of the project to arrive at the design inputs.
This page was updated on 12 January 2011