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Abstract.A comprehensive earthquake catalogue has been compiled, listing historical and instrumentally recorded earthquakes throughout the Pannonian Region bounded by 44.0-50.0 N latitude and 13.0-28.0 E longitude. The catalogue contains more than 20 000 events ranging in date from 456 AD to 1998 and is considered to be complete for earthquakes larger than M 6.4 since 1500, for earthquakes larger than M 4.7 since 1800 and for magnitudes greater than 3.5 since 1880. In combination with the stress data derived from 190 focal mechanism solutions for individual earthquakes these data provide a relatively strong basis for evaluating seismic sources and seismotectonic models both within and surrounding the Pannonian Basin. The most active parts of the area are the Carpathian and Dinaric tectonic belt and the Vrancea region in the Southeast Carpathians. Seismicity in the Pannonian Basin is more moderate compared to the peripheral areas, however distribution of the total seismic energy release indicates current deformation in the basin area as well. Shallow hypocental depth within the top 20 km of the earth's crust is principal in the entire region except for the Vrancea zone where intermediate depth seismicity (from 70 to 160 km) is governing. In the Pannonian Basin area the majority of events occur between 6 and 15 km. Focal mechanism solutions show that strike-slip and thrust faulting are almost exclusive in the Southern Alps and in the Dinarides. In the Eastern Alps and Western Carpathians focal mechanism solutions present exclusively strike-slip character. In the Pannonian Basin, thrust and strike-slip faulting seem to be dominant, while earthquakes in the Vrancea area occur in a compressive regime with thrust tectonics.

Seismic hazard for single sites and hazard maps for the whole Pannonian region (44.0-50.0N; 13.0-28.0E) have been calculated. The hazard assessment was carried out using a probabilistic approach by incorporating a wide range of parameter values and viable interpretations that were consistent with the data. Alternative interpretations were described by branches of a logic tree. Each branch was weighted according to the ability of that interpretation to explain the available data. The resulting seismic hazard map describes expected shaking with a 475-year return period in terms of peak ground acceleration. Furthermore, some important contributors to seismic risk are highlighted, and a liquefaction hazard map is presented for the territory of Hungary.

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