In earthquake-prone regions of the world it is important not only to ensure that new facilities meet optimal standards but also that existing structures and infrastructure be retrofitted and rehabilitated.  As world populations concentrate in urban areas, the stakes in human life and property of such natural disasters as earthquakes becomes higher and higher.  This has been driving research on advances in the field.  These advances are presented biennially at a conference organised by the Wessex Institute of Technology.

The advances presented at the ninth conference in the series, which began in 1996, are presented in this book.  The papers cover: Seismic Hazard Evaluation and Microzoning for Structural Design; Building Performance During Earthquakes; Performance Based Design; Seismic Hazard Assessment; Nonlinear Analysis; Experimental Studies; Seismic Isolation and Energy Dissipation; Case Studies.