April 2010

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming AACCLA meetings (click here for more information)

  • June 21-24: Business Future of the Americas and AACCLA's Mid-Year Meeting, Lima, Peru
  • October 4-6: Forecast on Latin America and the Caribbean and AACCLA's Annual Meeting, Washington, DC

Director's Note

Dear Colleagues,

Soon the DMA portal will share a structural engineering assessment report for Chile that Peter Yanev and collaborators have prepared for the World Bank on Chile. This is a must read given the details included and the implications for sustainable investments in seismic prone regions.  In the meantime, please visit this (link) for Peter Yanev’s article on March 28th in the New York Times: Shake, Rattle, Seattle.

We urge everyone to watch the Chile EERI/PEER Reconnaissance Briefing at UC Berkeley, with presentations on March 30th by:

  • Jack Moehle, UC Berkeley, 27 March 2010 Offshore Maule, Chile Earthquake, Photo Gallery (PDF - click here)
  • Keith Kelson - FUGRO WLA, Geologic Aspects of the M = 8.8 February 27, 2010 Chile Earthquake (PDF - click here)
  • Jonathan Bray, UC Berkeley, Geotechnical Aspects of the M = 8.8 February 27, 2010 Chile Earthquake (PDF - click here)
  • Mark Yashinsky, Caltrans, EERI/PEER/FHWA Bridge Team Report (PDF - click here)
  • William Holmes, Rutherford & Chekene, Reconnaissance Report on Hospitals (PDF - click here)

Also see: Agenda, EERI, EERI Chile Earthquake Clearinghouse Website

Please also visit and promote the World Housing Encyclopedia  

Some of the impressive sound bites from the presentations at Berkeley include:

  • Only 0.5% of buildings were severely damaged
  • At least 50% of hospital elevators failed in all of Chile.  Patients had to be carried down stairwells for evacuation.  Only 3 patients died, all from heart attacks
  • Most hospitals had emergency generators and water tanks. The state of California in the US will require this for all hospitals by the year 2030.
  • Suspended lay-in or “American” ceilings caused, by far, the most disruption in hospitals and other structures, generally due to the lack of seismic detailing. The building code specifies non-structural mitigation but there is a lack of implementation. (In this case it appears the engineers thought the architects would do it and vice versa).
  • On structural damage to unanchored equipment, inventory etc. multiplied the losses caused by this earthquake.
  • Street or market values of expensive high rise towers is plummeting due to fears over safety.
  • A dangerous trend in Chile that was observed is that older structures would have 12 inch thick walls.  The new standard is only 6 inches which is much less resilient.
  • There were some repeat damages in Viña del Mar of buildings that were not retrofitted sufficiently.

More technical yet still important details include:

  • There are no provisions or prohibitions for vertical irregularities in the NCH433 Chilean building code.  Nor is confinement of boundary zones for reinforced concrete structures required.
  • The coast in Lebú, Chile was raised 2 meters during the event, leaving the harbor high and dry – while the coast at Iloca sank 1 meter increasing the devastation by the tsunami.
  • All 4 bridges connecting Concepción to the rest of the country were damaged, most notably the 2.3 km bridge in collapsed due to lateral spreading and liquefaction.
  • Buildings in Concepción sited on marshy ground and/or landfill with shallow foundations endured tremendous liquefaction damage.
  • The port in Coronel witnessed 1.2 meters of lateral displacement, shifting 10% of the containers, 1 moved 30 feet from its original location.
  • Bridges along the Pan American Highway that suffered damage were not well seated, the girders lacked diaphragms, and the seismic bars did not perform as intended.

Those of you who are seasoned engineers or professionals in structural, geodynamics, seismic and other specialties will, no doubt, identify other critical sound bites and lessons.  Please share them with us!

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Announcements

New blog articles

  • New article on Business Continuity Blog:
    Develop your Business Continuity Plan Now: Do’s and Don’ts for Developing an Actionable Plan on a Budget. More>>
  • New article on Sharing Tools Blog:
    Where can you find out what risks related to natural disasters might affect the area where you work, live, or own your company? More>>
  • Read Kit Miyamoto’s blog: Structural Engineer and CEO of Miyamoto International talks about his experiences in Haiti as he and other engineers provide their technical expertise to help with the reconstruction process. More>>

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Haiti Update

Forecasters at Colorado State University “anticipate an above-average probability of United States and Caribbean major hurricane landfall” (see report). This is devastating news for the 1.3 million homeless in Haiti. With the rainy season underway, conditions have already begun to deteriorate for refugees in camps like those at the Pétion-Ville Golf Club where “a windy 20-minute downpour left a half foot of water inside makeshift tents on the sloping golf course”  (Katz, AP, April 2010).

Rain dumps lakes of water into Haiti quake camps By JONATHAN M. KATZ (AP) – Apr 7, 2010. More>>

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PADF/Kit Miyamoto Partnership Will Benefit Thousands in Haiti

PADF is proud to share that the DMA-facilitated alliance with Miyamoto International will be able to help many Haitians return to their earthquake shaken homes before hurricane season sets in. USAID/OFDA is supporting a 6 month, $4.8 Million cooperative agreement through PADF and Miyamoto International for the “Haiti Emergency Shelter Rehabilitation” program, which provides structural assessments to existing homes and uses a standard methodology for tagging homes green, yellow, or red to encourage displaced persons to rehabit safe homes (green tags) and make minor repairs to yellow-tagged homes. Stay tuned on http://www.panamericanrelief.org/ for updates.

In Haiti, engineers get crash course on quake damage assessment: A U.S. group provides hands-on training to 10 top government engineers, who will teach Haitian inspectors how to determine whether a property is safe to live in - By Ken Ellingwood - Mar 9, 2010. More>>

Haiti National Effort to Assess 100,000 Structures before hurricane season: Miyamoto International working is partnering with Haitian government, United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) and World Bank…More>>

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Community, Solidarity, Hope, Action: Social networking websites are a valuable source of volunteers

Kingston, Jamaica – January 23-24 – 1,000 volunteers descended on the headquarters of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) to participate in the “Help Haiti” campaign, part of the relief effort for Haiti’s earthquake victims. By the end of the two-day event, the volunteers had helped collect, sort, clean, and package over 10,000 pairs of shoes, of which 8,842 were bagged for delivery. Each bag of shoes carried a message of hope for a Haitian man, woman or child in need.

As the national agency dedicated to disaster management, ODPEM used its public relations network of local and national radio stations to build awareness about the event and inform the public about the items needed by the Haitian people. Complementing their effort, Well Heeled Jamaicans used the power of their social network to encourage donations and call on volunteers. Both organizations brought to bear their volunteer management experience and ability to raise good will. Aside from gathering shoes, the organizers were able to raise other in-kind donations (from companies and individuals) that included food/refreshments for the event, packing bags and shipping boxes, and sanitation supplies.

This event was made possible by the joint collaboration of ODPEM and Well Heeled Jamaicans. This is a perfect example of what a public-private partnership can accomplish when stakeholders bring their assets to the table. Lisa-Ann O’Gilvie said, “Our organization Well Heeled Jamaicans, “From our Soles to Yours," was really grateful for the opportunity to support ODPEM's activities for the people of Haiti.” By taking advantage of each other’s strengths, the organizations made this event a reality within a short period of time.

About ODPEM:
ODPEM was established by the Disaster Act of 1993. The ODPEM has the unique role of being the only government agency to provide disaster management functions in Jamaica. ODPEM operates out of the Office of the Prime Minister with a Board of Management overseeing its activities. More information>>

About Well Heeled Jamaicans:
Well Heeled Jamaicans “From Our Soles to Yours” was founded in 2008 with a singular mission: the collection of new and very slightly worn shoes, to contribute in a small way, to the dignity of our fellow Jamaicans in need. More information>>

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Hyogo Framework for Action: We all have a role to play

The Hyogo Framework for Action was adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) in Hyogo, Japan, January 2005 by 168 governments. The framework outlines a results-oriented 10-year plan for disaster risk reduction up to 2015.

In 2009, many countries published progress reports. One of the main goals of the Framework is to reduce the underlying risk factors that slow down recovery after a disaster through public-private partnerships. These reports can provide useful information about existing gaps that need to be addressed in each country. Reports are available for the following DMA countries:

Other reports include National Reports on the Implementation of the HFA (2007) and the National Report in Preparation for the WCDR (2004). These reports can be found online on PreventionWeb (click here).

Read a two-page chart summarizes the goals and expected outcomes of the HFA. More>>

Read the complete HFA report. More>>

Test your knowledge. Take the Hyogo Framework Survey (click here) on the DMA website.

We ask our DMA stakeholders to consider how the Hyogo Framework for Action can assist them with their alliance development.  Remember that the DMA portal has many resources and capacities at your disposal.  For example, given the importance of effective public private alliances for disaster management and risk reduction, the Disaster Management Alliance has dedicated a great deal of effort to assisting our Alliances in the Making.  Assess the current status of your alliance’s development by identifying which phase best describes it right now:

  • Incipient - partners have been identified and rough goals have been established
  • Solidifying- gather partners and start development plan
  • Ready-protocols in place, core partners in place and one year action plan
  • Action - get busy, spend money
  • Veteran -sustain efforts and grow

 

Are you ready to take your alliance to the next level? Take the DMA challenge!  Get together with your alliance’s stakeholders. Answer these questions together (click here), establish a plan to undertake the next best steps, and get started. The DMA is here to take your questions and offer support (AskDMA - info@planfordisasters.org).

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The information provided on this Web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.

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