Section 2.6: "Seismic Hazard and Stress Field"

Head of Section: Prof. Dr. G. Grünthal

Earthquakes occur not only at plate boundaries. In the tectonically rather stable Central Europe, the hazard from earthquakes is indeed small but not negligible. In Germany alone, minor damage on buildings is observed every two to three years, while on the long-term average, substantial to major damage on buildings occurs on the average every 50 to 60 years. In Section 2.6 our aim is to investigate this hazard from earthquakes and to provide construction engineers with the basic data and information how to build earthquake proof. These regional investigations are performed not only for Germany but, in international collaboration, also for Europe, the Mediterranean area as well as non-European plate-border zones. Our special attention in this respect is devoted to including the rock stresses which cause quakes in the Earth’s crust.