Secretariat New Address: 
MUNDICONVENIUS
Avenida 5 de Outubro, 53 – 2
1050 – 048 Lisboa Portugal
Tel.: ++ 351 21 315 51 35
Fax: ++ 351 21 355 80 02

E-mail: info@mundiconvenius.pt

 

Conference Topics


Topic 1 – Social-economic impact on communities exposed to earthquakes and tsunamis

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami represents to this date one of the most destructive natural events to hit Europe. It’s social, political, economic, and literary impact is felt even after 250 years. One would imagine that after 250 years of learning and improving the socio-economic infrastructure in terms of seismic risk reduction, the world would have reduced risk potential against such disasters. Unfortunately, recent events over the past two to three decades have shown us over and over again that the social-economic vulnerability of communities is still at an unacceptably high level. The Great Sumatran Earthquake and the resulting tsunami in the Indian Ocean have once again pointed out the glaring gaps between knowledge and implementation.

This topic and session will explore the reasons for these gaps between knowledge and practice in various vulnerable communities around the world. Papers are welcome from around the world where communities are being prepared for future large earthquakes and tsunamis and case studies are available to understand the bridge between knowledge and practice. Papers discussing social, economic, political, and community based measures are welcome. This topic will provide a forum for researchers in technical and socio-economic disciplines to exchange their views on how the communities can connect the “Last Mile”, resulting in improving the risk profile due to future events. 

CONVENERS
Prof. Haresh C. Shah
Prof. José Oliveira Mendes


Topic 2 – Urban planning facing natural hazards, information and warning

The contributions to this session should revolve around earthquake scenarios for large urban areas. Current and new methodologies for developing realistic scenarios with various purposes and on different scales are as important as the options for utilizing them in the urban planning process and in optimizing response plans. Scenarios can help to measure urban vulnerability and its change through time. They allow to identify the high risk components of a city and to evaluate the role of critical infrastructure. They can be utilized for cost-benefit analysis of preventive measures.
During and after an earthquake, scenarios if developed in near-real time play an important role in providing fast information on ground shaking and potential damage so that response of resources can be optimized from the very beginning.

CONVENERS
Prof. Friedemann Wenzel
Prof. Carlos Sousa Oliveira


Topic 3 – Propagation and local effects in the seismic destruction 

The 1755 earthquake was a rare, very large event, which was felt at very long distance, and produced destructions over very large area. These qualitative observations raise several questions concerning the wave propagation phenomena, among which:
· Is the ground motion in coastal areas significantly influenced by the ocean-continent transition?
· Was the destruction, or the intensity felt at very long distances, locally controlled by site conditions? Is there some evidence of site amplification, or site liquefaction, or induced landslides?
· Were they unusual phenomena related with the rich low frequency content due to the very large magnitude (for instance destruction in thick basins at large distances?
These questions may be addressed from different viewpoints: investigations of historic data, specific experimental surveys, numerical simulation, analogy with more recent, well instrumented, very large events. All papers addressing these issues, for the particular cases of the Lisbon 1755 earthquake, or for some other very large events in other parts of the world, will be welcome.

CONVENERS
Prof. Pierre-Yves Bard
Prof. Paula Teves Costa


Topic 4 - How to build earthquake resistant buildings under environmental geological constraints

More detailed topics of the session:
- Criteria and requirements for the design of structures for earthquake resistance 
- Seismic response of structures (analysis, testing and response to real earthquakes)
- New trends in seismic design of buildings
- Seismic assessment and retrofitting of buildings
- Seismic design of bridges and other non-building structures
- Innovative approaches to improve the seismic response of structures (base isolation, dampers, active control)

CONVENERS
Prof. Polat Gulkan
Eng. Eduardo Cansado Carvalho



Topic 5 – New approaches to the seismogenesis of the 1755 earthquake 

The 1755 earthquake has been the subject of various research projects in the last 20 years. The source mechanism was confirmed to be of thrust type but new source areas have been proposed besides the classical location in the Gorringe Bank, such as the Marquês de Pombal – Horseshoe thrust Fault system and Gulf of Cadiz thrust fault system. The new source area locations must be discussed at the light of existing data or revised seismic moment estimation and intensity distribution maps onshore; these must also be confronted with new tsunami data simulation.
Given the magnitude of this very large earthquake we must also discuss its implications in terms of possible earthquake interactions. A triggered offshore rupture near Lisbon has been proposed and this hypothesis should be discussed at the light of Neotectonics and Seismicity of the Lower Tagus Valley Fault System. Alternative explanations of delayed rupture at various time scales by viscoelastic coupling to underlying astenosphere should also be considered.

CONVENERS
Prof. Elisa Buforn
Prof. António Ribeiro


Topic 6 - Global response to large Earthquakes

The terrible effects of recent earthquakes, in Iran, Algeria and most of all the Indian Ocean Tsunami event of 26.12.04 have drawn worldwide public attention to the earthquake threat, and this has challenged earthquake professionals to explain why such disasters can still happen, and propose what can be done to avoid future recurrences.

This session will be an opportunity to examine both (a) what has been learnt from recent large earthquakes about design codes and their enforcement, the state of the existing infrastructure and emergency response capabilities; and also (b) how we can improve our readiness to face such events in the future.

Topics for discussion may include:

· Observations of damage in recent large earthquakes 
· Post-earthquake emergency response and reconstruction 
· National and urban earthquake safety strategies (regulations, enforcement, upgrading, awareness) 
· Public awareness, risk perception and policy formation and the role of insurance

CONVENERS
Prof. Robin Spence
Eng. Alfredo Campos Costa

 

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