section_path: Management/Preparedness
section_name: Preparedness
paragraph_text: Preparedness
  
  The objective of earthquake engineering is to foresee the impact of earthquakes on buildings, bridges, tunnels, roadways, and other structures, and to design such structures to minimize the risk of damage. Existing structures can be modified by seismic retrofitting to improve their resistance to earthquakes. Earthquake insurance can provide building owners with financial protection against losses resulting from earthquakes. Emergency management strategies can be employed by a government or organization to mitigate risks and prepare for consequences.
  
  Artificial intelligence may help to assess buildings and plan precautionary operations. The Igor expert system is part of a mobile laboratory that supports the procedures leading to the seismic assessment of masonry buildings and the planning of retrofitting operations on them. It has been applied to assess buildings in Lisbon, Rhodes, and Naples.
  
  Individuals can also take preparedness steps like securing water heaters and heavy items that could injure someone, locating shutoffs for utilities, and being educated about what to do when the shaking starts. For areas near large bodies of water, earthquake preparedness encompasses the possibility of a tsunami caused by a large earthquake.