It is almost four years since the Lorna Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989. Since those ten seconds of shaking many lessons have been learned by all those affected. The objective of this symposium was to share these lessons and experiences so that the impact of future earthquakes on other communities might be minimised. Before reporting on the symposium content it may be recalled that the Lorna Prieta earthquake was Richter magnitude 7.1 with the epicentral region located 100km. from the cities of San Francisco and Oakland. Excluding localised site effects, typical felt intensities, in these areas were about MM 7, similar to the expected intensity of a thirty year return period event in the central region of New Zealand. The Lorna Prieta earthquake, at least as experienced by two large cities was not a major earthquake. Details of the earthquake and its effects have been published extensively, including a report by the NZNSEE reconnaissance team in this Bulletin, Vol. 23, No. 1, March 1990. The following six topics were reasonably equally discussed during the symposium: - geotechnical, buildings, emergency preparedness and response, lifelines, bridges and recovery, mitigation and planning. All plenary session papers will be published in due course and copies will be placed in the New Zealand Earthquake and War Damage Commission and Victoria University libraries. Those issues raised at the Symposium and thought to be of special relevance to the New Zealand scene are discussed under headings from each of the above topics.