Rapid Earthquake Information for Bucharest

Advances in sensor techniques, digital acquisition, communication and computing allowed establishment of the field of real-time seismology (KANAMORI et al., 1997) and the design of earthquake information systems that provide rapid information on ground motion and potential damage in an area for which a ground motion estimation data base is available and where the inventory of buildings and infrastructure and its vulnerability to shaking is known. We discuss a system for the Romanian capital of Bucharest, where an early warning system with about 30 seconds lead time, shake maps and a sophisticated damage estimation tool for Bucharest have been developed in the frame of the Collaborative Research Center on Strong Earthquakes (http://www-sfb461.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de/).