Seismic hazard assessment in Belgium
Abstract
The seismic hazard assessment has been conducted on the Belgian territory conforming to Eurocode 8, the European earthquake building code. The study was performed using the seismological database of the Royal Observatory of Belgium and the publications and open reports available for geological and geophysical data. The seismic hazard in Belgium was evaluated with a probabilistic analysis, using the public software SEISRISK III from the U.S. Geological Survey. The output consists of hazard maps showing the distribution of the horizontal peak ground acceleration for a return period of 475 years. Different maps are presented according to the choices that can be made on the attenuation laws and the definition of the seismic source zones. The computations have been made assuming that all Belgian territory is constituted by rock, as requested by Eurocode 8.