Authors / CoAuthors
Jones, T. | Dhu, T. | Fulford, G. | Corby, N. | Sinadinovski, C.
Abstract
In addition to the devastating 1989 Newcastle earthquake, at least four other earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater have occurred in the surrounding Hunter region since European settlement in 1804. Some of these earthquakes caused damage in areas that, at the time, were sparsely populated. Similar events, were they to occur today in populated areas, would certainly cause significant damage. The frequency with which these events have occurred in the Hunter region suggests that earthquakes pose a genuine threat to the communities there. This study presents the most comprehensive and advanced earthquake risk assessment undertaken for any Australian city to date. It has focused on the economic losses caused by damage to buildings from earthquake ground shaking, and not on the impacts from other, secondary hazards such as soil liquefaction and surface faulting. The study has adopted a probabilistic approach that makes allowances for the variability that is inherent in natural processes as well as the uncertainty in our knowledge. The results from this project will assist decision-makers involved in local and state government, policy development, the insurance industry, engineers, architects, and the building and finance industries to manage potential damage and loss of life from earthquakes in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. The results also have implications for the earthquake risk facing larger Australian cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. This is due to a number of factors, including similarities between the earthquake hazard in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and other parts of Australia, and similarities between the urban environments, particularly the composition of the building stock.
Product Type
document
eCat Id
40255
Contact for the resource
Custodian
Owner
Custodian
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia
Keywords
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- GA PublicationRecord
- ( Theme )
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- earthquakes
- ( Theme )
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- risk assessment
- ( Theme )
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- geohazards
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- AU-NSW
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_External
Publication Date
2002-01-01T00:00:00
Creation Date
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unknown
Topic Category
geoscientificInformation
Series Information
Record 2002/015
Lineage
Unknown
Parent Information
Extents
[-33.2, -32.75, 151.45, 151.81]
Reference System
Spatial Resolution
Service Information
Associations
Source Information
Source data not available.