15 Feb 2022

Forecasting earthquakes - can we better predict ground shaking?

From Nine To Noon, 9:30 am on 15 February 2022
Brendon Bradley

Professor Brendon Bradley Photo: Supplied / Prime Minister's Science Prizes

An earthquake engineering expert wants to change the way we predict how the ground will shake during an earthquake. Professor Brendon Bradley from the University of Canterbury is the recipient of a Marsden Fund grant to accelerate his research into seismic hazard analysis and forecasting. He says the idea is to get to a point where they can provide the same sort of information as a weather forecast. Professor Bradley says just like a severe weather warning, engineers would be able to provide information about severe ground shaking, how it varies locally in each city or suburb, and the likely consequence to buildings. Kathryn speaks to Professor Brendon Bradley, the director of Te Hirangu Rū QuakeCoRE - The New Zealand Centre for Earthquake Resilience.