Ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) are one of the key input parameters for seismic hazard assessment (e.g., Petersen et al. 2008) and for the site-specific ground-motion response spectrum (GMRS) for nuclear power plants (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2007). Examples of GMPEs developed for the central and eastern United States include Somerville et al. (2001), Silva et al. (2002), Campbell (2003), and Atkinson and Boore (2006). Led by Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research, a significant effort is under way to systematically develop GMPEs for the central and eastern United States, next-generation attenuation for the eastern North America, or so-called NGA-East.

The development of GMPEs in the central and eastern United States is hindered by the lack of ground-motion observations, particularly from large earthquakes (M 7 or larger). It is desirable to compare any GMPE developed for the central and eastern United States with the ground-motion observations from similar earthquakes in other stable continental regions (SCR) of the world. For example, Cramer and Kumar (2003) compared ground motions recorded by structural response recorders (i.e., engineering seismoscopes) within 300 km fault-distance from the 2001 Bhuj, India, earthquake (M 7.6) to several published GMPEs for the central and eastern United States.

On 12 May 2008, a large intra-plate earthquake (M 7.9) occurred in Wenchuan, China, along …