Special issue  

We invite contributions to a special issue in NHESS on the European seismic hazard and risk models. During the 20th century, earthquakes in Europe accounted for more than 200 000 deaths and over EUR 250 billion in losses. Earthquakes cannot be prevented or precisely predicted, but efficient mitigation measures informed by earthquake hazard and risk models can significantly reduce their impacts.

It has long been recognized that earthquake effects extend across country borders and that seismic hazard and risk must be addressed not only locally but also nationally and, equally importantly, at a regional level.

In 2022, the European Facilities for Earthquake Hazard and Risk (EFEHR) released the next-generation European seismic hazard model and the first harmonized European earthquake risk models. The development of these models was a joint multiyear effort of seismologists, geologists, and engineers across Europe. These models offer harmonized information on the spatial distribution of expected levels of ground shaking due to earthquakes, their frequency, and their potential impact on the built environment and on people's well-being.

The newly released update of the earthquake hazard model and the first earthquake risk model for Europe are the basis for establishing mitigation measures and making communities more resilient. They significantly improve understanding of where strong shaking is most likely to occur and what effects future earthquakes in Europe will have.

We invite contributions to a virtual special issue in NHESS related to the European seismic hazard and risk model building, model results, sensitivity analysis, and all model components. We also welcome contributions on seismic hazard and risk assessment in general, at the local, national, and regional levels, with a particular emphasis on seismogenic source models, earthquake rate forecasts, active fault modelling, empirical and physical ground motion modelling, site effect evaluation, exposure modelling, numerical and empirical vulnerability model development, assessment of seismic hazard across political boundaries, comparison and sensitivity analyses, and other related topics. Contributions demonstrating the development of novel testing procedures, as well as the comprehensive treatment of aleatory and epistemic uncertainties, are also encouraged.

Submission to the virtual special issues will start in July 2022 and end in February 2023; contributions will be open for community reviews and published online as soon as the review process is completed.