The long and winding road from earthquakes to damage

Abstract

The damage during earthquakes is caused by many factors depending on source, site and structural characteristics. The earthquake source mechanism and response of local site conditions are complex and may vary significantly from one earthquake to the other and from one site to the other. These difficulties and ambiguities in forecasting the seismic hazard in terms of expected earthquake characteristics affecting the man-made environment are discussed and possible alternative approaches are suggested.