Book excerpt: Earthquakes form one of the categories of natural disasters that sometimes result in huge loss of human life as well as destruction of (infra)structures, as experienced during recent great earthquakes. This book addresses scientific and engineering aspects of earthquakes, which are generally taught and published separately. This book intends to fill the gap between these two fields associated with earthquakes and help seismologists and earthquake engineers better communicate with and understand each other. This will foster the development of new techniques for dealing with various aspects of earthquakes and earthquake-associated issues, to safeguard the security and welfare of societies worldwide. Because this work covers both scientific and engineering aspects in a unified way, it offers a complete overview of earthquakes, their mechanics, their effects on (infra)structures and secondary associated events. As such, this book is aimed at engineering professionals with an earth sciences background (geology, seismology, geophysics) or those with an engineering background (civil, architecture, mining, geological engineering) or with both, and it can also serve as a reference work for academics and (under)graduate students.