Earthquake hazards: Putting seismic research to most effective use

Abstract

A year has passed since a devastating tsunami inundated large areas of the northeastern coast of Japan, with tragic consequences. Given that it remains too difficult to make accurate short-term predictions of earthquakes, at least for now, the question is what we can do to improve earthquake damage mitigation. The 2011 magnitude-9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake clearly demonstrated that seismologists can rapidly and quantitatively determine what has happened during a quake, thus reducing its impact and the number of lives lost. Yet there is much room for improvement. Real-time data are not being fully shared between nations, and the best monitoring tools have not been fully implemented. More should be done to encourage the practical use of seismic research. At present, there is too large a gap between academic work and the reality of hazard mitigation.

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