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Earthquakes

Workshop

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Seismic hazard maps will be computed using Global Earthquake Model (GEM) hazard assessment software OpenQuake. http://www.openquake.org

At the beginning of the twentieth century, two great earthquakes struck the region: in 1905 near Shkodra earthquake with magnitude 6.6 destroyed the whole north-western part of Albania as well as the southeastern part of Montenegro; one year later, a big earthquake, (magnitude 6.1) close to Zagreb, struck northern Croatia. In the border region between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, two earthquakes with magnitude 6.2 occurred in 1923 and 1942. In 1963, an earthquake in Skopje, Macedonia with magnitude 6.1, took 1070 lives and caused severe damage to infrastructure. Six years later, western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina was struck by a devastating earthquake with magnitude 6.4.

Fig. 4 shows the instrumental seismicity of the region for the time period 1973 - 2010. Within this instrumental period, a destructive earthquake struck the southern Adriatic coastal area and caused 9135 deaths in Montenegro and Albania, and more than 10 billion US dollars loss occurred in Montenegro alone. Just one year later, an earthquake with magnitude 6.0 struck the Kopaonik region in southwest of Serbia, also causing significant damage. On average, this region is exposed to a destructive earthquake every 10-15 years, while every 60-70 years a catastrophic one recurs.

Direct users of Project results should be structural engineers, earthquake engineers, and physical planers in the entire region for both building code applications and input to earthquake loss models. A USGS Open-File report and fact sheets summarizing findings of this Project will be prepared. In addition, seismic hazard maps and hazard curves will be available for public use through a dedicated interactive webpages.

Picha F. J. Late orogenic strike-slip faulting and escape tectonics in frontal Dinarides-Hellenides, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece, AAPG Bulletin, 2002, Vol. 86, No. 9, pp. 1659-1671.

Wald, D.J. and Allen, T.I. Topographic slope as a proxy for seismic site conditions and amplification, Bulletin of the Seismo. Society of Am., 2007, Vol. 97, pp. 1379-1395.