Improving defence against earthquakes and tsunamis

A pioneering new computer model has been developed to simulate the whole chain of hazard events triggered by offshore mega subduction earthquakes, by a team involving UCL and Bristol engineers. It is the first model to do this and has the potential to reduce losses to life and property caused by disasters like the huge earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan six years ago this Saturday (11 March). The project, called CRUST (Cascading Risk and Uncertainty Assessment of Earthquake Shaking and Tsunami) and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), involves an international team spearheaded by engineers from the University of Bristol, in collaboration with UCL EPICentre and supported by testing at HR Wallingford. Designed to be used in any part of the world potentially vulnerable to offshore subduction earthquakes (where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another), such as Japan, New Zealand, the Pacific Northwest (US and Canada), Mexico, Chile and Indonesia, the model integrates every aspect of an undersea earthquake - including tsunamis, aftershocks and landslides - into a single multi-hazard simulation tool. The CRUST project looks to generate more comprehensive, more accurate maps of all potential hazards stemming from off-shore earthquakes. Professor Tiziana Rossetto, Co-Investigator on CRUST (UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering), said: 'The model gives us a much greater understanding of how events are connected with one other.