The assessment of the earthquake hazard and risk and the enhancement of the society’s resilience are greatly dependent on the knowledge of impact data sets of past earthquakes. For earthquakes that occurred in the historical period, such data sets could be based on various types of historical documentation and, in addition, on geological observations and possibly on archaeological evidence. After the establishment and gradual improvement of macroseismic scales the earthquake impact data sets are translated to macroseismic intensity with the use of several methods and techniques. In the modern period the collection of macroseismic observations and the assignment of intensities has been expanded to the so-called citizen seismology. These new achievements are of significance to advance the methods that may contribute to the assignment of macroseismic intensities to historical earthquakes.
This session is devoted to the advancement of methods and techniques that may contribute to the compilation, storage, and elaboration of impact data sets useful for the intensity characterization of historical earthquakes as well as for seismic hazard and risk assessment purposes. Also welcomed to this session are similar studies focusing on the collection and elaboration of impact data sets for other earthquake-related natural hazards, e.g., tsunamis and landslides, with the aim to help the assessment of hazards and risks.
Gerasimos Papadopoulos