Foreword

Destructive earthquakes have caused great damage in China and the United States and collapsing buildings have caused many deaths and injuries. The field of earthquake engineering studies earthquake hazards, the occurrence of earthquakes of various magnitudes, the nature of the ground shaking during an earthquake, the vibration of structures during earthquakes, the strengthening of existing structures and the design of new structures to be earthquake resistant, and finally, how to cope with earthquake damage and restore a city to normal functioning.