Lessons from the Haiti earthquake

Team 2

Tomoya Takeuchi

Ryu Dongun

Sugiyama Harumi

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Tokyo Institute of Technology 1

Outline

• Could Engineering have averted much of the earthquake damage?

• Risk of further earthquake

• Building pressure

• Summary

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Could Engineering have averted much of the earthquake damage?• The case of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (1995) 80% of the victims were killed instantly in Kobe city.

Time after the earthquake Total victims by the time

(Percentage in all the victims)

Same time

( 5:47 a.m. in January 15)

2,944

(80.5%)

By 9 a.m.

(January 15)

3,019

(82.5%)

By 12 a.m.

(January 15)

3,128

(85.5%)

By February 4 3,547

(97.0%)

[The number of the victims by the presumed time of death in Kobe-city] 3

Rescue work could have saved a part of the 20% of the victims.

Disaster engineering could have saved a part of the 80% of the victims. (ex. Earthquake-proof buildings)

In case of the Haiti earthquake

[Neighbors carried a man who was crushed under buildings in Nishinomiya-city.]

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Risk of further earthquake

•Positioned close to the edge of the Caribbean Plate

•Records of past earthquakes

In 1751,1770

•Absence of surface rupture

Stored elastic energy

Haiti is always at risk of earthquakes.

It could be larger than last one.

Building pressure

There is no doubt that the recent shock has enhanced

the risk of another earthquake.

Many more cities lie in the path of damaging

earthquake.

If building are not made earthquake resistant, the toll is likely to continue to rise

as cities grow in population.

Urban earthquakes bring a huge financial burden to the

world.

Minimal construction guidelines should be mandated in all the world’s cities.

In order to reduce the future global burden

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Summary

Engineering could have averted much of the damage in Port-au-Prince area.

There is now a greater risk of further earthquakes there.

Minimal construction guidelines should be mandated in all the world’s cities.

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