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Weak and Strong Ground Motion of Intermediate Depth Earthquakes from the Vrancea Region

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Vrancea Earthquakes: Tectonics, Hazard and Risk Mitigation

Abstract

On March 4, 1977, at 19:21 UT, a destructive earthquake with Mw= 7.4 hit the Vrancea region in the Eastern Carpathians. The 100 km deep event was felt at distances greater than 2000 km and produced extensive damage in the epicentral area as well in Bucharest. Ambraseys (1977) and Hartzell (1979) were the firsts to note the particular shape of the (single) strong motion record available, recorded by a Japanese SMAC accelerograph: a low frequency pulse-like signal with a peak value close to 210 cm/s2 at the INC site in Bucharest (see Figures 1 and 2). The complex character of the rupture and the focal mechanisms of the individual events have been widely studied by Müller et al. (1978), Fuchs et al. (1979), Räkers and Müller (1982) and Iosif et al. (1983).

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Oncescu, MC., Bonjer, KP., Rizescu, M. (1999). Weak and Strong Ground Motion of Intermediate Depth Earthquakes from the Vrancea Region. In: Wenzel, F., Lungu, D., Novak, O. (eds) Vrancea Earthquakes: Tectonics, Hazard and Risk Mitigation. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4748-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4748-4_3

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