ABSTRACT
In simple terms, seismic risk management may be defined as the framework of activities for the most effective use of available financial resources in an effort to reduce the consequences of earthquakes in a region. It is apparent that this framework constitutes the strategic plan of the government of a country for seismic risk reduction in its seismic regions. Earthquakes, as natural phenomena, in very few cases pose a direct threat to humans (e.g. landslides, tsunamis). Earthquakes generally become hazardous only when they are considered in relation to the built environment. In this respect, the built environment as a whole (buildings, bridges, dams, motorways, lifelines, etc.) contributes to the formation of the ‘seismic risk’. However, since buildings, and particularly those with R/C structural systems, constitute the basic core of the built environment, it was decided to include a chapter on seismic risk management in this book, although it does not relate only to R/C buildings.
