After the Earth Quakes: Elastic Rebound on an Urban Planet by Susan Elizabeth Hough and Roger G. Bilham

Abstract

Earthquakes can be one of the most devastating natural hazards on earth. Historical and instrumental earthquakes should be well investigated with a scientific approach to understand this behavior of the earth. Consequently, there are many books, reports, and articles about earthquakes. This book, After the Earth Quakes , by Susan Elizabeth Hough and Roger G. Bilham, deals with the large and sometimes devastating historical and instrumental earthquakes and their impacts on individuals and societies, along with the development of earthquake science. The theme of the book focuses mainly on societal response to earthquake disasters. Additionally, the book informs the reader of progress in seismology leading to new developments in the understanding of earthquakes. The chapters of the book chronicle earthquakes from 1755 to 2004. Geographically, one earthquake in Europe Lisbon, Portugal, three in the United States New Madrid, Missouri, Charleston, SC San Francisco, CA, one in Japan Kanto, and one in the Indian Ocean Sumatra are discussed. The chapters dealing with the individual historic earthquakes start with the 1755 Lisbon earthquake because the birth of seismology happened on account of this earthquake. The 18111812 New Madrid earthquakes in the Mississippi Valley and the 1886 Charleston, SC, earthquakes are described in the following chapters as historical earthquakes. In the next two chapters, the 1906 San Francisco, CA, earthquake and the 1923 Kanto, Japan, earthquake are explained as examples of highly destructive instrumental earthquakes. The following chapter describes the tsunami effects of the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. The subject mentioned in the title of the book, Elastic Rebound, carries two meanings. The first meaning implies the theory explaining the occurrence of earthquakes, and the second meaning is the response of humans in the face of earthquakes. This response includes actions …