The response of civil engineering works to earthquakes is the only real and conclusive proof of their adequacy or otherwise. However, earthquakes as natural geological phenomena are few and far-between, which is fortunate from a human point of view. Therefore, drawing important lessons from each and every earthquake is vital for improving the understanding of their effects and consequently for mitigating the effects of future earthquakes. It is in this context that this volume has been written, where a number of distinguished and internationally renowned earthquake engineers make contributions largely based on lessons from recent earthquakes. In particular, studies of the Kobe earthquake of 1995 and the more recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Greece (August and September 1999, respectively) are included through assimilation of the lessons learnt and dissemination of this information. It is hoped that, future earthquakes will not exact such a heavy toll.