New Research Suggests Earthquake Risk Models Should Account for Syrian Refugees

Joseph Lilek (jlilek@americangeosciences.org)

3/27/2017

 

As the Syrian Civil War enters its sixth year, seismic hazard might not immediately come to mind, but there is a reason it should. According to research presented at the AGU Fall Meeting, new estimates of the number of earthquake fatalities that could be expected in Turkey under several potential earthquake scenarios are 3 to 20 percent higher when Syrian refugees are counted in seismic risk models. In the April issue of EARTH Magazine, read how researchers at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville made this discovery, which will provide vital data for disaster mitigation and response efforts. Read the full story, now online: https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/new-research-suggests-syrian-refugees-must-be-accounted-seismic-risk-models.

 

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The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.

 

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