The contributions comprising this volume highlight the continuous need of carrying out further research on major earthquakes and associated effects such as tsunamis. The problems arising from such catastrophic events intensify as population pressure results in buildings in regions of high seismic vulnerability. A better understanding of these phenomena and their consequences is required for designing earthquake resistant structures as well as carrying out risk assessments and vulnerability studies.

The challenge of protecting the built environment in earthquake-prone regions involves not only the optimal design and construction of new facilities but also the upgrading and rehabilitation of existing structures including heritage buildings. The latter include the types of highly specialized retrofitting employed to protect the built heritage.

The papers comprising this volume were presented at the 14th International Conference on Earthquake Resistant Engineering Structures and cover fundamental and applied research addressing a range of issues among those mentioned above.