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Seismic risk assessment quantifies the likelihood and potential consequences of earthquake shaking at a specific location. Unlike a simple map of past earthquakes, a seismic risk calculation integrates probabilistic hazard models, local soil conditions, and the characteristics of structures in the area to produce actionable risk tiers. The foundational concept is the return period: a 475-year return period corresponds to a 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, the standard design basis for most building codes worldwide. Higher return periods (e.g., 2,475 years, or 2% in 50 years) are used for critical facilities such as hospitals and nuclear plants.

The tectonic setting of a location drives its baseline hazard. Subduction zones—where one oceanic plate descends beneath another—produce the largest earthquakes on Earth, including the 2011 Tohoku M9.1 and 1964 Alaska M9.2 events. Transform faults like the San Andreas slip horizontally and generate frequent moderate-to-large earthquakes. Rift zones such as the East African Rift and the Basin and Range Province in the western US produce extensional faulting. Intraplate regions far from active plate boundaries can still experience significant earthquakes driven by ancient fault systems reactivated by residual tectonic stresses or fluid injection.

Soil amplification profoundly modifies ground shaking intensity at the surface. Soft sediments—lake beds, river deltas, reclaimed land—amplify shaking and extend its duration compared to bedrock sites. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake dramatically illustrated this: distant soft lacustrine sediments beneath the city resonated at the dominant period of the seismic waves, causing collapse of mid-rise buildings 350 km from the epicenter. Site class characterization using shear-wave velocity (Vs30) is now standard in hazard assessments and underlies the site amplification factors in modern building codes.