This volume contains the most relevant peer-reviewed papers presented at
The First International Workshop on Vrancea Earthquakes, held in
Bucharest on November 1-4, 1997. Strong earthquakes in the Romanian
Vrancea area have caused a high toll of casualties and extensive damage
over the last several centuries. With a moment magnitude of 7.4, the
1977 earthquake caused more than 1500 casualties, the majority of them
in Bucharest. The contributions address key problems of seismotectonics
of the Vrancea area and related strong ground motion, hazard assessment,
site effects and microzonation, structural damage and earthquake
resistant design, risk assessment and disaster management from an
international and regional perspective. This list of topics shows the
diverse contributions from the multidisciplinary fields of geosciences,
geophysics, seismology, geology, civil engineering, city planning, and
emergency relief practices. This book is of value for scientists
interested in earthquake hazard and seismic risk research as well as for
seismologists, geophysicists and Earth scientists. It is also useful for
authorities responsible for public safety and natural hazard mitigation
plans and for insurance companies.