Multihazard Design: How to Prepare for Dual Disasters
While one natural disaster does not predict another and a double disaster is unlikely to repeat itself, Hurricane Irene and the Virginia earthquake, much like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March, are chilling reminders that past experience is seldom an infallible guide to the worst-case scenarios that
inform structural design decisions. Engineers would do well to ponder the difference that a slightly stronger earthquake could have made on preparations for and damage from the storm that followed.