ABSTRACT
This chapter presents two cases of post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction that followed distinct strategies. Earthquakes are recurring events and, despite the difficulties to estimate intervals between them, it is predicted that similar seismic actions may happen in the future. The earthquakes of Lisbon and Angra do Heroismo are the events that probably caused the most destruction and deaths in Portugal. At the time of the disaster, Lisbon was one of the most beautiful European cities, famous for its wealth, with many palaces and churches, and was a city known worldwide for its commercial activity. The chapter also demonstrates that the level of development, location and importance of a city all have an important impact on its capacity for reconstruction. The reconstruction of Lisbon is considered to be as important and innovative as the emergency actions taken in the immediate post-disaster period.
