Publications - Norsar

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Earthquakes
Historically, Norway has not been exposed to large, disastrous
earthquakes. Nevertheless, there is a moderate seismic activity, with 21
small tremors being felt by people in 2005. Most of the earthquake activity in
Norway takes place offshore.
An entirely different picture was observed during 2005 in Asia. Less than
a year after a catastrophic earthquake (with magnitude 9.3) struck the
coast of Sumatra on 26 December 2004 and generated a deadly tsunami,
another disastrous earthquake occurred in Kashmir on 8 October 2005.
With a magnitude of 7.6, this earthquake was not among the largest ones
observed, but the fault zone of 80 km length happened to be located just
beneath several large cities. A contributing factor to the disastrous effects of
this earthquake was the vulnerability of the buildings, being characterized
by unsuitable design, poor construction practice together with use of substandard
building materials and lack of reinforced concrete frames. The
official death toll is above 80,000 and entire communities have been literally
extinguished. Women were particularly exposed during the earthquake
because they traditionally stay indoors.
It is an unfortunate development that the number of casualties as well as
the amount of destruction due to earthquakes is increasing. While we know
how to reverse this trend, the possibility of undertaking effective actions is
limited due to social, organizational and financial conditions.
Svake bygningskonstruksjoner er hovedårsak til skader.
Poor construction practice is one of the main factors causing damage.