NEPAL:

ONE OF THE GLOBAL

EARTHQUAKE DISASTER

LABORATORIES

NEPAL: COLLISION OF EURASIAN

AND INDO-AUSTRALIAN PLATES

NEPAL: A NATION OF 27.8

MILLION

LOCATION

• The quake's epicenter was 80

kilometers (50 miles) northwest of

Kathmandu, and it had a depth of

only 11 kilometers (7 miles), which

is considered shallow in geological

terms.

This earthquake, the worst quake

to hit Nepal (a poor South Asian

nation) since 1934,

collapsed buildings and houses,

leveled centuries-old temples and

triggered avalanches in the

Himalayas.

KATHMANDU, THE

CAPITAL, DEVASTATED

The Kathmandu Valley is densely

populated with nearly 2.5 million people,

and the quality of building construction is

often poor.

KATHMANDU SKYLINE

TECTONIC

DEFORMATION

EARTHQUAKE

TSUNAMI

GROUND

SHAKING

FAULT RUPTURE

FOUNDATION

FAILURE

SITE

AMPLIFICATION

LIQUEFACTION

LANDSLIDES

AFTERSHOCKS

SEICHE

DAMAGE/LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/ LOSS

DAMAGE/LOSS

SIZE, LOCATION, AND DEPTH

AFFECT DAMAGE

• The quake's hypocenter was only 11

kilometers (7 miles) --- The bigger,

shallower, and closer the quake is, the

more destructive it usually is.

• Witnesses said the trembling and

swaying of the earth went on for

several minutes.

INADEQUATE RESISTANCE TO

HORIZONTAL GROUND SHAKING

EARTHQUAKES

SOIL AMPLIFICATION

PERMANENT DISPLACEMENT

(SURFACE FAULTING & GROUND

FAILURE)

IRREGULARITIES IN ELEVATION

AND PLAN

FIRE FOLLOWING RUPTURE OF

UTILITIES

LACK OF DETAILING AND

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

INATTENTION TO NON-

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

CAUSES

OF

DAMAGE

GLOBAL

“DISASTER

LABORATORIES”

INITIAL REPORTS:

AT LEAST 480 PEOPLE IN 4

COUNTRIES (NEPAL, INDIA,

TIBET, BANGLADESH)

KILLED; MANY INJURED;

POSSIBLY MANY TRAPPED

UNDER RUBBLE

DAMAGE

SEARCH AND RESCUE

A COMPARISON WITH OTHER

DEVASTATING

EARTHQUAKES

(in terms of casualties)

DECEMBNER 1920 HAIYUAN,

CHINA EARTHQUAKE

• DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT

273,400.

SEPTEMBER 1923 GREAT KANTO

EARTHQUAKE: JAPAN

• DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT

142,000.

JULY 1976 TANGSHAN, CHINA

EARTHQUAKE

• DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT

242,000 TO 655,000.

EXAMPLE: 240,000 DEAD AFTER

“BULLS-EYE” EARTHQUAKE

• TANGSHAN, CHINA

(1976) EARTHQUAKE:

The impossible situation;

too late for a race

against time” to save

lives and protect

property.

EL ASNAM, ALGERIA; 3,500

DEAD (OCT. 10, 1980)

EXAMPLE: COLLAPSE OF HIGH-RISE

APARTMENT BUILDINGS

• MEXICO CITY AFTER

1985 EARTHQUAKE:

Timely responses

during a forty-eight

hour and thirty day

“race against time”

save lives and protect

property

EXAMPLE: SEARCH AND RESCUE OF

SURVIVORS IN COLLAPSED BLDGS.

• TURKEY (1999)

KOCALEI EARTH-

QUAKE):

• Timely responses

during a forty-eight

hour “race against

time” to save lives

and protect property

EXAMPLE: GUJARAT, INDIA

20,800 DEAD (JAN 26, 2001)

BOUMERDES, ALGERIA; 2,226

DEAD (MAY 21, 2003)

DECEMBER 2004 EARTH-

QUAKE/TSUNAMI: INDONESIA

• DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT

280,000.

EXAMPLE: 230,000 DEAD AFTER

EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI

• INDONESIA (2004):

The impossible

situation; too late

for a race against

time” to save lives

and protect

property.

MAY 2008 EARTHQUAKE:

SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA

• DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT

88,000.

EXAMPLE: 88,000 DEAD AS RESULT OF

NON-ENGINEERED BUILDINGS

• CHINA (MAY 2008):

• The impossible

situation; too late for a

race against time” to

save lives and

protect property.

JANUARY 2012 HAITI

EARTHQUAKE

• DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT

220,000.

EXAMPLE: 220,000 DEAD AS RESULT

OF NON-ENGINEERED BUILDINGS

• HAITI (2010):

• The impossible

situation; too late for a

race against time” to

save lives and

protect property.

EXAMPLE: A TENT CITY FOR

SURVIVORS AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE

• HAITI (2010):

Timely temporary

housing during a

thirty day “race

against time” to

save lives and

protect property

EXAMPLE: SURPRISE! DEBRIS FROM

JAPAN’S TSUNAMI NOW IN USA

• SENDAI, JAPAN

AFTER THE MARCH

2011 EARTHQUAKE

AND TSUNAMI: What

will happen to the

radioactive debris?

LESSON: THE KNOWLEDGE AND TIMING

OF ANTICIPATORY ACTIONS IS VITAL

• The people who know: 1) what to

expect (e.g., strong ground motion,

soil effects, tsunami wave run up,

ground failure), 2) where and when

they will happen, and 3) what they

should (and should not) do to

prepare for them will survive.

LESSON: TIMELY, REALISTIC

DISASTER SCENARIOS SAVE LIVES

• The people who have timely,

realistic, advance information that

facilitates reduction of

vulnerabilities, and hence the risks

associated with strong ground

shaking, tsunami wave run up, and

ground failure will survive.

LESSON: EMERGENCY RESPONSE

SAVES LIVES

• The “Uncontrollable and

Unthinkable” events will always

hinder the timing of emergency

response operations, especially the

search and rescue operations that

are limited to “the golden 48 hours.”

LESSON: EMERGENCY MEDICAL

PREPAREDNESS SAVES LIVES

• The local community’s capacity for

emergency health care (i,e., coping

with damaged hospitals and medical

facilities, lack of clean drinking

water, food, and medicine, and

high levels of morbidity and

mortality) is vital for survival.

LESSON: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERED

BUILDINGS SAVE LIVES

• Buildings engineered to withstand

the risks from an earthquake’s

strong ground shaking and ground

failure that cause damage, collapse,

and loss of function, is vital for

protecting occupants and users

from death and injury.

LESSON: THE INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNITY ALWAYS PROVIDES AID

• The International Community

provides millions to billions of

dollars in relief to help “pick up the

pieces, ” but this strategy is not

enough by itself to ensure

earthquake disaster resilience.

FACTMOST OF THE 200 + NATIONS

NEED EARTHQUAKE DISASTER

RESILIENCE POLICIES THAT ARE

BASED ON LESSONS LEARNED

FROM PAST EARTHQUAKE

DISASTER LABORATORIES

YOUR

COMMUNITY

DATA BASES

AND INFORMATION

HAZARDS:GROUND SHAKING

GROUND FAILURE

SURFACE FAULTING

TECTONIC DEFORMATION

TSUNAMI RUN UP

AFTERSHOCKS

•MONITORING

•HAZARD MAPS

•INVENTORY

•VULNERABILITY

•LOCATION

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

BOOKS OF

KNOWLEDGE

•PREPAREDNESS

•PROTECTION

•EM RESPONSE

•RECOSTRUCTION AND

RECOVERY

EARTHQUAKE DISASTER

RESILIENCE

PILLARS OF EARTHQUAKE DISASTER

RESILIENCE

Preparedness

Protection: Adoption and Implementation of a

Modern Earthquake Engineering Building Code

and Lifeline Standards

Prevention: Land Use Planning and Base

Isolation

PILLARS OF EARTHQUAKE DISASTER

RESILIENCE (continued)

Monitoring

Realistic Earthquake Disaster Scenarios

Timely Emergency Response (including search

and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services)

Cost-Effective Recovery and Reconstruction

THE CHALLENGE:

CHANGING EXISTING POLICIES:

CREATE, ADJUST, AND REALIGN

PROGRAMS, PARTNERS AND PEOPLE UNTIL

YOU HAVE CREATED THE KINDS OF TURNING

POINTS NEEDED FOR MOVING TOWARDS

EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESILIENCE

AN UNDER-UTILIZED GLOBAL

STRATEGY

To Create Turning Points for

Earthquake Disaster Resilience

USING EDUCATIONAL SURGES CONTAINING THE PAST AND PRESENT LESSONS TO FOSTER

AND ACCELERATE POLICY CHANGES

MOVING TOWARDS THE MUST-

HAPPEN GLOBAL STRATEGY

To Achieve Earthquake Disaster

Resilience

INTEGRATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS WITH POLITICAL

SOLUTIONS IN EVERY NATION FOR REALISTIC POLICIES ON PREPAREDNESS,

PROTECTION, DISASTER SCENARIOS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE,

RECONSTRUCTION, AND RECOVERY