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What is the first thing that ordinary people, for whom journalists are the proxy, ask when they meet a seismologist? It is certainly nothing technical like "What was the stress drop of the last earthquake in the Imperial Valley?" It is a sim ple question, which nevertheless summarizes the real demands that society has for seismology. This question is "Can you predict earthquakes?" Regrettably, notwithstanding the feeling of omnipotence induced by modem technology, the answer at present is the very opposite of "Yes, of course". The primary motivation for the question "Can you predict earthquakes?" is practical. No other natural phenomenon has the tremendous destructive power of a large earthquake, a power which is rivaled only by a large scale war. An earth quake in a highly industrialized region is capable of adversely affecting the econ omy of the whole world for several years. But another motivation is cognitive. The aim of science is 'understanding' nature, and one of the best ways to show that we understand a phenomenon is the ability to make accurate predictions.
This book is the outcome of a careful and detailed study of earthquakes in Central America. It combines information from felt effects and instrumental recordings to reassess the location and size of events since the beginning of the instrumental era. Early sections describe the techniques used, with particular emphasis on the determination of earthquake magnitude. The largest section comprises detailed descriptions of more than 700 of the more significant earthquakes, many accompanied by maps of the felt effects. The main catalogue gives details of the location and size of more than 1800 events, with references to associated phenomena such as surface faulting, volcanism and tsunami generation.