ABSTRACT
In order to reduce the disaster caused by ear thquakes , it is necessary to have some means of ea r thquake predict ion and to design structures tha t will wi ths tand such shocks. Long-term ear thquake predict ion of 50-100 years provides a foundat ion for p lanning and engineering design; shor t - term predict ion of a few days or months may be used as a guide for society to take some emergency act ion to reduce casualty numbers and to main ta in no rma l functioning. Ea r thquake predict ion is mainly the duty of seismolog ists; emergency act ions are to be taken by society and governmental bodies; bu t specification and implementat ion of seismic design and retrofitt ing of existing engineering works are the duty of ea r thquake engineers. Ear th quake engineers have to par t ic ipate in seismic hazard evaluat ion and zona t ion with seismologists and in damage predict ion and emergency p lanning with governmenta l bodies.
