BU558 Earthquake terminology (2013)

Following the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010/2011, many articles and reports appeared describing the events and the impact they had on buildings.

Documents that include explanations of the action of earthquakes on buildings often contain words and phrases that are not in common use outside of this specialised area. However, it may be useful for designers and builders from the industry as a whole to have a basic understanding of some of this terminology.

This bulletin explains in plain English some of the key words and phrases used in documents about earthquakes and designing and building to cope with earthquakes.