Earthquakes

Regarding the number of victims in the 20th century caused by earthquakes, they are the most significant of all natural hazards (about 51% of all victims of natural hazards, based on Science Council of Japan). The worldwide most active and therefore most relevant regions for people are Asia and South America. While seismicity is moderate in Central Europe and even minor in Germany, earthquakes still provide a potential risk for buildings and sometimes even for people.

By setting up the expert group on earthquakes, scientists from the Helmholtz institutes GFZ, DLR and AWI are working together in order to combine their expertise into a bundle, exchange data and discuss over certain disasters on the basis of their scientific background. With this setting, the experts from the disciplines of seismology, geophysics and remote sensing are able to share their knowledge and work on the description and analysis of earthquakes and related phenomena.

In this category you can obtain more information about projects and activities within the Helmholtz Association related to earthquakes. Furthermore, you can find a variety of useful background information which is currently being compiled by our earthquake experts.

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		Earthquake in the Qinghai province in China on April 14, 2010 April 14, 2010 (Last update on April 22, 2010) Categories: On April 14, 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the Yushu prefecture in the Qinghai province of China, followed by several aftershocks. Many hundred people were reported dead, injured or missing. Buildings collapsed or were severly damaged. Road network and communication lines were interrupted.   More...
		Earthquakes in Haiti on January 12, 2010 January 15, 2010 Categories: On January 12, 2010 a major earthquake of magnitude 7.0 and a depth of 10 km struck southern Haiti at 21:53 UTC. The epicentre was registred about 10 km deep and 16 km southwest of the capital city Port-au-Prince. The city was hit severely. Communication collapsed and major damage to buildings and infrastructure was reported.   More...
		Earthquakes in Indonesia (Sumatra) on September 30 and October 1, 2009 October 12, 2009 Categories: On September 30, 2009, a severe earthquake took place in the Indian Ocean with a magnitude of 7.9 and several aftershocks. The epicentre was registered about 50 km north-eastern of Padang in a depth of 85 km. On October 1, another earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 occured about 200 km southeast of Padang. The heavy shocks of both quakes caused the collapse of many buildings and bridges, fires broke out and major parts of the technical infrastructure failed.   More...
		Earthquakes and Megacities: Assessment of risk and vulnerability using remote sensing methods October 20, 2008 Categories: "Megacities and Natural Disasters" is a HGF-EOS research project with the purpose to develop, apply and link technologies and methodologies for integrated disaster management, including both prevention and management. The PhD thesis of Hannes Taubenböck (DLR) focused on the capabilities and limitations of remote sensing to assess risk and vulnerability in urban areas.   More...
		Earthquake in China: Satellite image maps for the German Red Cross June 20, 2008 Categories: On May 12, 2008, the strongest earthquake of China since 1976, occurred 90 km northwest of Chengdu in the Province of Sichuan. Measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, the earthquake was followed by a series of severe after-shocks that struck the whole region. Over 69,000 people died, 374,141 people were injured and 17,469 are still missing (GOV CHN, June 12, 2008). The tremors destroyed more than 80 percent of the buildings in the vicinity and more than 5 million people lost their homes.   More...
		Earthquake in Yogyakarta, Indonesia May 31, 2006 Categories: After the Tsunami of December, 2004, Indonesia was hit by another severe natural disaster. In the morning of Mai 27, 2006, an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 led to heavy destructions in the region of Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java. Up to now, more than 5,000 bodies were found and 20,000 injuries were counted. Some 200,000 people lost their homes.   More...

You can find more information in our  archive.