what do scientist use models of earthquakes to do

Question

ybarrap · Answer

I would guess to determine the potential impact to buildings, roads and water ways. This would allow them to assess potential economic impact as well as plan for emergency requirements, including appropriate response personnel and equipment (i.e. how close should shelters be, where should they be located, why type of equipment should be readily available -- e.g generators, and amount of food and water to store).

Generally, models are used to find a range of potential scenarios to understand how much to spend and determine range of risk for insurance purposes as well as those I mentioned above. Think about the analogous prediction of weather, what areas are more prone to flooding, versus those more prone to tornadoes or blizzards. Would the type of equipment be different for these different risks? Earthquakes are just another type of risk.

anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much