Inference of Earthquake Source Process from Historical Data of Earthquake Damage

Abstract

Japan has a database of earthquake damage, which includes the damage to buildings, and the direction of overturned chimneys, gravestones, and that of collapsed wooden houses. These data reflect the strong ground motions generated from the earthquake source process.
The spatial distributions of damage and directions of overturned bodies are simulated by a 3D dynamic rupture model, and the possibility of inferring the earthquake source process from the historical data is discussed.