Earthquakes and Natural Catastrophes
Dr. Thomas L. Holzer, American Geologist and Expert in Earthquake issues, delivered a public lecture on “How many catastrophic earthquakes and global earthquake fatalities will there be in the 21st century?” at Ilia State University.
The lecture was attended by students, teachers and professors working in the field of seismology. Mr. John R. Bass, Ambassador of the United States of America to Georgia, attended the meeting as well.
Dr. Thomas L. Holzer is an engineering geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California. As a researcher and lecturer, he has studied epicenters of earthquake in Afghanistan, Nepal, Japan and New Zealand. Mr. Holzer visited Georgia after his trip to town Vani in Turkey, with American geologists' team.
The foreign expert claimed: “The key topic of my lecture is catastrophic earthquakes which could pass away more than 50 000 people. These catastrophic earthquakes take place in many countries and Georgia is not an exception. The building stability is not supplied in Georgia. It is crucial to be the building stability against earthquakes taken into consideration. It does not cost too much and is easy to be dealt. As well, it is significant to be ensured the stability of hospitals, schools and public centers.”
Dr. Thomas has a B.S.E. degree in geological engineering from Princeton University (1965) and a M.S. degree in hydrology (1966) and a Ph.D. degree in geology from Stanford University (1970). He is a certified engineering geologist in the State of California, and a consulting professor at Stanford University in the Departments of Geological and Environmental Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has broad experience with earthquake hazards as well as ground failure in general. He has participated in numerous post-earthquake investigations and chaired the committee that wrote The Plan to coordinate NEHRP post-earthquake investigations (2003). Dr.Thomas is a consultant –professor at Stanford University, who created the National Plan of Earthquake Risks in US to be further researches conducted.