Building codes in earthquake-prone areas

AlArabiya English

Authorities in areas likely to be hit by earthquakes should introduce and enforce building codes as a preparatory measure, Professor Mark Allen from Durham University’s Department of Earth Sciences says.   #Tibet #Tibetearthquake

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00:00Mark, having this geological knowledge that you have, is there anything authorities can

00:05do to prepare an area for such an event?

00:10As I say, we can't usefully and accurately predict when the next earthquake is going

00:15to appear, but we can make forecasts based on the geological background of an area, based

00:21on the past earthquake record. And authorities can use this information to decide what building

00:29codes should be in place, how big an earthquake is an area likely to face in the coming decades

00:37or 100 years or even 1,000 years, and then crucially they can enforce those building

00:42codes, because it's useless if the laws are there, but the people on the ground are not

00:46following them.

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