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Follow on Google News | Australia to host Pacific earthquake conferenceBy: Australian Earthquake Engineering Society This conference is motivated by the knowledge that the Pacific region contains nearly all of the world’s subduction zones and is subject to the world’s largest and most frequent earthquakes. Although remarkable improvements in our understanding of earthquake effects and their impact on the built environment continue to be made throughout the Pacific region, recent events in Chile, Japan and New Zealand have reminded us again of the severity of earthquake hazards and of the need to redouble our efforts to understand them and learn how to mitigate their effects. Long experience has taught us that from both humanitarian and economic viewpoints, pre-emptive risk mitigation through the development and implementation of seismic hazard maps and seismic building codes is far less costly than disaster response and recovery. The conference theme, ‘Building an Earthquake-Resilient Pacific,’ encourages participants to meet the requirements of a truly resilient Pacific society that incorporates the social, economic and human dimensions of earthquake engineering. The public in Australia are generally unaware that a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, the size of the destructive Christchurch earthquake of 2011, occurs in Australia on average once every 10 years or so. The impact of such an earthquake on any one of our cities, a rare but forseeable scenario, would be devastating given that few modern buildings in Australia are designed to adequately resist the ground motion arising from these large but rare events. Old buildings are most at risk. Whilst earthquakes occur infrequently, the risk as assessed by the insurance industry is high, given the high density and vulnerability of city buildings. In Christchurch many people were killed by falling masonry, especially parapet walls, and that is also a very likely scenario in Australian cities. Many were also killed in poorly designed concrete frame buidings. Governments and city councils should take measures to mitigate these well known risks. They should also foster an enviroment in which new construction follows design procedures and construction practices that provide robustness and resilience to withstand earthquakes. The minimal costs of doing so are dwarfed by the massive economic losses and loss of life that could otherwise occur in Australian cities. City councils will be at the forefront of response and recovery following the next earthquake, as was the city council in Newcastle NSW after the destructive earthquake there 25 years ago this month. Council engineers should prepare by identifying and fostering the repair of hazardous buildings, especially schools and hospitals; establishing good communication links with seismological agencies through EMA; compiling a list of trained Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) engineers in their area; and making plans for earthquake response and recovery. To request a copy of the Conference Program and to arrange speaker interviews, please contact Sharon Anderson, PCEE Secretariat at pcee@aees.org.au , 0414 492 210. Issued by AEES (Australian Earthquake Engineering Society) www.aees.org.au End
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