A modified version of seismic hazard assessment, directed toward planning of emergency relief efforts, is proposed. The method begins with a probabilistic hazard assessment to determine a reference peak ground acceleration (PGA) at a near site, rather than using a reference earthquake of a given magnitude. The reference PGA then serves as a basis for a probabilistic assessment of PGA at more distant sites. The ideas are illustrated by studying seismic hazard for Northern Israel from earthquakes on the northern section of the Dead Sea Rift (DSR). The reference PGA at a site 10 km from the DSR is taken to be 0.3 g, which has a return period estimated to be 320 years. Given an event with PGA of 0.3 g at 10 km, the subsequent analysis for distant sites shows that there is less than a 31% probability of PGA above 0.1 g at 30 km and an 8% probability that the PGA at 50 km will exceed 0.1 g.
GPS measurements of present day crustal deformation within the Lebanese Restraining Bend along the Dead Sea Transform
