Recent Earthquakes
Devastating earthquakes in early 2010 remind all of us of the importance of improving construction design and practices, and of the particular vulnerability of housing. The tragic Haitian earthquake is a vivid reminder of this. The contrast between performance of housing and other structures in the Haiti and Chile earthquakes starkly illustrates how economics and engineering, as well as public policy, can influence earthquake performance.
EERI built and maintains virtual clearinghouses of information on these two recent earthquakes, as well as the April 4, 2010, Baja California earthquake. All three clearinghouses can be accessed through EERI's main website, or by going here:
EERI's New E-Affiliate Program for Developing Countries: Join EERI for $25
As recent earthquakes tragically illustrate, many of the more difficult issues facing earthquake professionals are particularly challenging for those in developing countries. While over 20 percent of EERI's membership is located outside the United States, EERI aims to increase this percentage, particularly with colleagues in developing countries. Many developing countries face a serious risk from earthquakes and some EERI projects, carried out in conjunction with local partners, address this risk in particular. Our WHE project is a prime example of such a project. EERI believes that many colleagues in developing countries would benefit from EERI membership, but the current membership fee of $250 (or $166 for members in developing countries who receive printed copies of EERI materials) is prohibitively high for many. To that end, EERI has developed the new category of e-affiliate membership. It is an electronic membership that will be available to new members in developing countries only. The dues for this category are $25 per year. Benefits of this membership include: - Online access to the EERI Newsletter
- Listing in the EERI membership directory
- A pdf file of an abridged directory or roster, listing EERI members by state, country and discipline. Full contact details can then be obtained through the EERI members-only website
- Electronic access to earthquake reconnaissance reports
- Electronic access to up to 2 papers per issue of the quarterly journal Earthquake Spectra
- Member rates for all conferences and meetings
- A certificate of EERI membership delivered by email
This category of membership does not include voting rights. It is being implemented for a trial period until the end of 2011, at which time its efficacy will be evaluated by the EERI Board of Directors. To access an application form for e-affiliate membership, visit: http://www.eeri.org/site/membership/join.
EERI to start a chapter in Haiti
After a number of smaller ad hoc activities with NGOs and governmental agencies active in the Haiti rebuilding, and a thoughtful discussion on how EERI can be most effective in supporting Haitians as they rebuild, it was determined the best course of action is for EERI to assist Haitians in establishing and running a local EERI Chapter. The Haiti Chapter of EERI will provide a solid foundation for the creation, development and maintenance of a local community of seismic risk reduction professionals. It is expected the Haiti Chapter of EERI will: host frequent and useful technical meetings for Haitian earthquake professionals; host frequent engineers from the US, working in collaboration with local Haitian engineers to conduct building assessments; provide technical seminars and practical training programs for Haitian academics, engineers, planners and builders; establish a comprehensive website with numerous resources on seismic risk reduction; host a library of technical resources for earthquake professionals; and provide an open channel for engineering, seismological and planning support from non-Haitian experts both in-country and abroad. The benefits of the Haiti Chapter include: quick establishment of a local professional chapter, fully supported by an internationally respected US institute of earthquake engineering; both practical and state-of-the-knowledge engineering and planning resources, housed at a local facility and available free of charge; a community gathering or meeting place for Haitians engaged in rebuilding with risk-reduction methods; and essentially unlimited access to EERI's technical expertise and experience, including expertise from World Housing Encyclopedia participants. If you are currently involved in the Haiti rebuilding effort, and would be interested in learning more about the EERI chapter in Haiti, please contact Craig Cole at ccole@cc-se.com.
Confined Masonry Initiative-Construction Guidelines Translated into Creole and Draft Design Guidelines Available for Review
As described in a previous e-newsletter, work is underway to develop materials that can be used to promote the wider use of the confined masonry construction technology. When built correctly, there is increasing evidence that this technology performs very well in earthquakes. There is strong interest in using this technology to guide some of the rebuilding in Haiti. An effort that was spearheaded by a grassroots group called Haiti Rewired translated Marcial Blondet's Peru guidelines on confined masonry constructioninto Creole. These guidelines are being used in ad hoc trainings in Haiti now and can be viewed in draft form here.
There are three working groups developing confined masonry technical materials: One group, led by Roberto Meli of Mexico and Svetlana Brzev of Canada, is developing a global design guideline. A second group, led by Marcial Blondet of Peru and Tom Schacher of Switzerland, is developing a template for a global construction guideline. A third group, led by Durgesh Rai, is developing a research agenda. The draft Design Guidelines are now available for review at the project website: www.confinedmasonry.org.
Farzad Naeim Prize: WHE In the EERI News
After a hiatus of several years, the WHE project renewed the Farzad Naeim prize. Rather than give an award to individual report authors, prize money will be used to underwrite the publication of an annual insert, featuring the Best Recent Report, as well as other recent WHE activities. The first insert was published in the January 2010 EERI Newsletter. The Best Recent Report selected was the report on EL SALVADOR: VIVIENDA DE BAHAREQUE, Report #141, written by Dominik Lang, Norway; Roberto Merlos (El Salvador); Lisa Holliday, U.S.A.; and Manuel A. Lopez M, El Salvador. The reviewer in the open review process was Qaisar Ali (Pakistan). The full color insert, with a description of this report as well as other recently received WHE reports and other recent activities is available for download here: WHE January 2010 Insert.
Ongoing WHE Projects
Work is underway on several WHE projects—watch for updates and new materials coming over the next few months: - Stone Masonry Tutorial (under leadership of Jitendra Bothara and Svetlana Brzev)
- Straw Bale Tutorial (under leadership of Martin Hammer and Dmitry Ozeryansky)
- Updating the Adobe Tutorial (under leadership of Alvaro Rubiños)
- Providing Analytical Input to USGS PAGER model (under leadership of Dina D'Ayala)
- Cleaning the Housing Reports and website (under leadership of Scott Hagie and Dominik Lang)
If you wish more information on any of these projects, please contact WHE Managing Editor Marjorie Greene at mgreene@eeri.org.
Partner with World Bank Handbook for Post-Disaster Housing and Community Reconstruction
The WHE project is a partner with the World Bank on their new publication, Safer Homes, Stronger Communities, and website focused on post-disaster housing and reconstruction. The newly developed website will provide a link to WHE activities, and partners will collaboratively develop training and dissemination programs. Visit the website at http://www.housingreconstruction.org/housing/. You can download the handbook there or you can buy a copy from EERI's online bookstore.
WHE at the 9th U.S./10th Canadian Earthquake Engineering Conference in Toronto
The WHE has organized two panel sessions at the upcoming conference in July. Panelists involved in the project will discuss appropriate building technologies in developing countries as well as capacity-building. If you will be attending the conference, look for these sessions.
New Reports on Housing Construction Types
The WHE project is constantly looking for new construction types to add to the database. Associate Editor Dominik Lang has developed materials to guide authors through the process. Please consider making such a contribution! Contact Dominik at dominik.lang@norsar.no or Marjorie Greene at mgreene@eeri.org for more information.
If you have questions or comments on any of the news items discussed here, we encourage you to contact Andrew Charleson, Editor-in-Chief (Andrew.Charleson@vuw.ac.nz), or any of the WHE Editorial Board.
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