Managing the Vulnerability of Megacities in North America and Europe to Seismic Hazards

The science and technology of seismic hazard mitigation are increasingly being shared among scientists and policy makers around the world. Administrative expertise is also being shared. While there is still tremendous unevenness in technical and administrative capacities and resources, a global community of emergency managers is developing and there is a globalization of expertise. Hazards are better understood, tools for risk assessment are improving, techniques for hazard mitigation are being perfected, and communities and states are implementing more comprehensive disaster preparedness, response, and recovery programs. Priorities are also emerging and hazard mitigation has emerged as the priority of choice in North America and Europe. An increasingly important component of hazard mitigation is resilience, in terms of increased capacities for disaster mitigation and recovery at the community and even individual levels. Each year, more is known about the locations and natures of seismic hazards, although there are still unknown and poorly understood fault lines and limited understanding of related disasters such as tsunamis and landslides. More is known about the impact of earthquakes on the built environment, although nature still provides surprises to confound man's best extorts to reduce risk. More is known about human nature and how people respond to uncertain risk and when confronted by certain catastrophe. However, despite the increased understanding of seismic phenomena and how to protect people and property, there is much that needs to be done to reduce the risk, particularly in major metropolitan areas.