Civil & Natural Resources

Civil and Natural Resources Engineering

About Earthquake Engineering

Earthquake Engineering encompasses a broad range of activities that seek to minimise the damage and disruption communities suffer when hit by an earthquake. The subject includes:

  • Assessing the tectonic and fault mechanisms that generate earthquaker to estimate when they will occur and how large they will be.
  • Understanding how the earthquake energy trasmits through the ground.
  • Quantifying the likely ground surface responses at a specific site throughout the life of a structure.
  • Assessing the liquefaction potential of soils at specific sites.
  • Designing structures and lifeline services (electricity, gas, transport, water and wastewater) to minimise the damage and disruption during and after an earthquake.
  • Planning for emergency response and post-earthquake recovery
  • Preparing communities for earthquakes

The following academic staff members are involved with research in earthquake engineering: