Earthquake Protection Systems_10 ppt

improvement projects, community action plans and others described in moredetail in Section 6.6.Traditional Buildings The greatest earthquake risk throughout the world is faced by traditi

improvement projects, community action plans and others described in moredetail in Section 6.6.

Traditional Buildings

The greatest earthquake risk throughout the world is faced by traditional ruralcommunities that build their own houses from locally gathered materials Thesehouses, variously described as ‘traditional’, ‘earthen’, ‘vernacular’, ‘owner-built’,

‘non-engineered’, ‘low-income’ or ‘low-quality’, form a high proportion of thebuilding stock of many developed countries Their earthquake performance isnotoriously poor, as outlined in Chapter 1 and touched on in each of the subse-quent chapters of this book

It is estimated that over 75% of the world’s population lives in housing of thistype.19Houses are built by the family itself, perhaps employing a skilled builderfrom within the community to direct operations Traditional construction materialsfor this type of house are naturally occurring and used in building constructionwith only limited processing or quality grading, such as earth, stone, wood andfibre Increasingly commonly used are modern building materials: cement, steel,concrete blocks, fired clay bricks, roof tiles, sheeting, processed timber and othermaterials bought for cash from nearby markets

These types of communities similarly tend to be beyond the control of urbanbuilding regulations or planning requirements imposed from central or urbanauthorities Instead development programmes based on capacity building andincentives for self-protection against earthquakes have been more successful.There have been a number of development projects focusing on improvingthe earthquake protection for traditional rural communities by increasing thecapability of local craftworkers and the builders in each community to buildearthquake-resistant structures with the skills and materials they have available.These types of projects, discussed in Section 6.6, have been mainly pioneered

by development agencies but increasingly adopted by governments as regionaldevelopment initiatives Government support can help extend the take-up rate ofsuch programmes of education and training builders with building improvementgrants, materials, subsidies and other incentives to establish earthquake-resistantconstruction techniques within the building traditions of the hazard-prone areas

6.5.2 Education and Training

The overall level of competence of the design professionals and personnel in theconstruction industry has a major effect on the vulnerability of the built environ-ment In the longer term, the quality of the buildings that will be constructed in

19 Razani (1981).

5–10 years’ time depends largely on the standards of training being received bythe students and apprentices of today.

Engineering Education

Engineers’ curriculum and vocational training achievement levels are usuallyestablished by national authorities and in a seismic country all engineering stu-dents should have a thorough grounding in earthquake engineering as part of theircore curriculum The standard of earthquake engineering being taught is impor-tant and should be reviewed as an integral part of the longer term earthquakeprotection strategy Mid-career training for engineers in practice is also impor-tant in order to increase awareness of earthquake issues, update them on recentdevelopments in earthquake engineering and explain code revisions or regulatoryprocedures Professional engineering institutions or colleges are useful vehiclesfor increasing education standards, and mounting mid-career training courses forpractising professionals

Education of Other Professions

It is also important to spread seismic design knowledge out wider than theengineering professions Architectural education should also include earthquakedesign principles in the undergraduate course of student education and post-qualification training Building surveyors, property managers, real estate agentsand construction contractors could also benefit from a knowledge of earthquake-resistant design principles developed through college courses, further educationand professional groups Vocational training or on-the-job skills development forbuilding supervisors, tradespeople and construction labourers also increases thequality of building construction and improves earthquake resistance Require-ments for certain skills to be represented in trade certification and basic trainingalso help develop an earthquake awareness at every level of the building industryworkforce

6.5.3 Public Awareness

Public awareness of earthquake risks and support for the measures needed to

be taken for protection are a necessary prerequisite for action to be taken Thesupport of the community and its participation in protecting itself and mandat-ing its representatives to take actions to protect it are the essential elements ofearthquake protection It is clear from studies of perception of risk, presented

in Chapter 10, that the actions communities take to reduce risk and the supportthey give to reduce unacceptable risk are related to the nature of the risk andperception of its degree and severity Availability of information about the actual

level of risk faced, demystification of the threat and familiarisation with tection capability are important aspects of motivating the community to protectitself Studies of some communities at risk, particularly rural groups, developingsocieties and communities with limited access to information, suggest that theirperceptions may distort and underestimate earthquake risk – individuals may bemore at risk from earthquakes than they realise Earthquakes are rare events andfew people are likely to have personal experience of them They may have anincorrect image of earthquakes being all-powerful and totally devastating.Psychologists suggest that hazards like earthquakes which embody high levels

pro-of ‘dread’, which are perceived to be uncontrollable and that few pro-of the nity have personal experience of, are difficult to protect against These hazardsmay be mentally rejected or perceived fatalistically or in other ways that reducethe motivation to take action to reduce them (see Section 10.6) It is clear thatincreased access to factual information can increase perception of risk, and affectwhat is considered safe

commu-Public information campaigns, increased exposure of earthquake issues in themedia, including disaster safety in school teaching and encouraging civil protec-tion to become more a part of public life, raise awareness in general Someelements of public information campaigns for earthquake preparedness werediscussed in Chapter 3, Section 3.6, including drills, practice emergencies andanniversary remembrances Information on earthquakes can increase familiaritywith the hazard and reduce its dreadfulness, and it can demonstrate that mitiga-tion is effective and necessary Public information campaigns can also addressthe more pragmatic issues of what to do in the event of an earthquake andother response activities that may save lives and reduce damage But without apreparatory background programme to increase familiarity with earthquakes, thewhat-to-do type of information is unlikely to be well received or the need for itcomprehended The primary focus of public awareness campaigns is to motivatethe community to protect itself as far as possible (see Section 6.2)

6.5.4 Earthquake Hazard and Engineering Research

At a national level, it is important to understand the nature of the earthquakethreat There are many countries that suffer repeated destructive earthquakes

in which basic seismological data is poorly gathered, and national ries under-resourced and understaffed Hazard research (outlined in Chapter 7)can define the areas where earthquakes are most likely to strike, the rates atwhich earthquake activity can be expected, the characteristics and severity offuture earthquakes and the probable consequences of seismic activity Suchresearch is best carried out and coordinated at a national level, or even at aninternational level where several neighbouring countries cooperate in hazardassessment A national seismological observatory maintaining its own network

observato-of seismometers, or coordinating networks observato-of different universities and research

agencies, can observe patterns of seismic activity over time and across the wholecountry or region and contribute to everybody’s understanding of the hazardthey face.

Earthquake engineering may be an important area of research, as the struction types, preferred materials and design practices are different in eachcountry and often differ from region to region within a country The develop-ment of earthquake design building codes based on those of another country iscommon practice, but adapting them to the local building types needs research.Structures, e.g concrete frame structures, are likely to be similar from onecountry to another and design methods may be transferable, but constructionpractices, e.g infill construction, construction of engineering movement joints,etc., and the local building forms and typologies vary considerably from oneregion to the next It is clear from earthquake engineering research that localconstruction techniques affect seismic performance significantly and studies areneeded to optimise earthquake safety measures for local building types Tra-ditional building types and the non-engineered building stock that makes upmost of the risk of earthquake damage tend to be very poorly researched andlargely dismissed by the engineering community in most countries Research isneeded to develop earthquake-resistant techniques, design principles and con-struction details that are appropriate to the types of buildings normally built inthat country

con-Coordination and support for a broad programme of independent research,involving universities, public utility companies, government research institutes,private companies and other research establishments, may also be an area ofgovernment initiative or budgeting Research activities are a vital part of nationalearthquake protection efforts

6.5.5 Budgeting for Losses and Mitigation

The degree of influence that national or local authorities can bring to bear

on improving earthquake safety is likely to be related to the budget able

avail-Many measures available for earthquake protection require the commitment

of significant resources The establishment and sustaining of institutionalisedsafety councils, the implementation and policing of adequate building codes,the construction of earthquake-resistant public buildings, and the use of grantsfor building improvement, establishing research institutes and many other mea-sures advocated here, require adequate funding These measures, as an integratedpackage, represent the cost of public safety against earthquakes

The spending of public finances to improve public safety is justifiable on itsown but financial costs of earthquakes are themselves high and there is additionaljustification for spending on earthquake protection in reducing these costs Inaddition to the unquantifiable but considerable costs to society, intangible losses

of injury and the loss of human life, there are costs in the destruction of property,both public and private, costs of emergency mobilisation, relief and recovery, thedisruption to the economy, loss of earnings and lost production, and costs of lostopportunity and delayed developmental progress The few studies that have beenmade of the costs and benefits of spending on earthquake protection have shownthat well-targeted investments in areas of high hazard can be cost-effective inreducing losses – that is, the financial savings can exceed the costs of investment.There are therefore economic arguments for earthquake protection measures quiteapart from civil protection and saving human life Chapter 10 presents the use ofcost–benefit analysis and other methods of calculating the value of earthquakeprotection measures.

Budgeting for Earthquake Losses

Few governments cost future earthquake losses systematically, but a number ofcountries maintain some disaster budget or contingency account used mainly forrelief and emergency needs Most disaster losses are funded through borrowingand there is a convention that disaster losses are unforeseeable, and so are notplanned for on the budget sheet By not budgeting explicitly for earthquakelosses, it is harder for the economics of earthquake protection to be shown or

to be argued for Systematic costing of earthquake losses is both possible andnecessary in a country that has repeated earthquakes Earthquakes, of course,happen irregularly and there can be many years between major events When

a large earthquake occurs it can cost billions of dollars Smaller earthquakesoccurring more frequently add smaller costs to the damage total Averaged out as

a cost per year, the losses due to earthquakes can be significant, and seismologicalhazard studies, historical experience and future risk analysis (see Chapter 9) canpredict with a fair degree of accuracy what the annual average loss is likely to

be over a 10-, 20- or 100-year period Such studies cannot, however, predict

when this loss is likely to occur – the need to budget on an annual basis, or

even for a multiple year administration, means that the probability is low thatthe expenditure will come within that particular, short time frame This tends

to lead to it being ignored in short-term accountancy Longer term accountancyand policy development, such as that being increasingly practised by governmentadministrations in areas like environmental policy, energy and mineral resourceexploitation and transportation policy, is needed for national protection policiesagainst earthquakes and other natural hazards

Deciding on levels of budget that are appropriate to commit to protectionagainst earthquakes is a matter of the severity of the risk, the prioritisation ofthat risk against other calls on the resources available, and the social and politicaljudgements that each community uses in making decisions In Chapter 10 there isfurther discussion of decision-making on risk, perception of risk and comparablelevels of risk that communities find acceptable

Inevitably the funding for protection programmes will be disbursed piecemeal,with hazard observatories funded from higher education and research budgets,code administration funded from local administration, building improvementgrants from capital funds, and so on Some individual initiatives to raise localfunds for building improvement from development tax and to encourage partner-ships of public and private sector funding have been discussed above The mainkey to funding is motivation and belief that earthquake protection is possible anddesirable If the community at large and the individuals at funding level believethat earthquake protection is a valid activity, then funding will become a higherpriority The role of national and local government authorities is central to estab-lishing earthquake protection as a credible, achievable and essential part of life

in a hazard-prone country

6.5.6 Supporting the Design Professions

The design of buildings and facilities to protect them against earthquakes(described in Chapter 8) is a skilled job and requires a thorough understanding

of the destructive power of an earthquake and the mechanisms that operate.Specialist earthquake engineers in the fields of civil, structural and geotechnicalengineering have a vital role, both in the structures they design and in promotingearthquake protection to be adopted more widely Some of the strongest advocatesfor seismic legislation, community preparedness and earthquake protectionmeasures are the earthquake engineering specialists But earthquake-resistantdesign has to become a broader, general skill within the general engineeringprofession for a truly safer community to result The standards of earthquake-resistant design of the average engineering practitioner are what determine thesafety of our towns and cities

Understanding the principles of earthquake-resistant design also has to bewidened to include all the other design professions: architects, surveyors, ser-vices engineers, interior designers It is now well established that a good engineercannot make a bad architectural design earthquake resistant All the members ofthe design team need an understanding of earthquake issues to make a safe build-ing – the architectural form of the building, the location of the service runs, the

materials specifications and the non-structural fittings all need to be designedwith an understanding of how they affect earthquake safety.

Most countries have professional institutions that represent each of the ous design disciplines, regulate professional qualification standards and lobby fortheir interests A full endorsement by professional institutions of the role played

vari-in earthquake protection by their members will enable that profession to movemore fully into earthquake protection activities The professional institutions mayrequire competence in design for earthquake safety as a qualification or mem-bership requirement Continuing professional education or mid-career trainingshould also include earthquake-related topics, particularly following the intro-duction of a new building code or in the aftermath of a destructive earthquakewhich has had lessons for design professionals All these activities depend onthe support of national governments

Persuading Clients to Protect

The client, when commissioning the design of a building or other facility, monly relies on the advice of the design professional for a range of matters.Structural safety and functional reliability are factors in which clients are likely

com-to be influenced by professional recommendations The professional engineer,architect or other designer is an advocate for earthquake protection and has animportant role to play in educating the client about the risks involved and per-suading the client to take earthquake protection seriously in the design process

A client may be unwilling to pay for the additional costs involved in ing appropriate levels of earthquake resistance unless convinced of the necessityand benefit of doing so The design professional may be able to convince theclient of the need for design safety by demonstrating the hazard faced and therisks of earthquake damage The client should be encouraged to protect the facil-ity to the fullest extent practicable The client also should be made aware ofthe protection levels afforded by the statutory minimum design requirements andencouraged to protect the facility to higher standards where this is appropriate orjustifiable

incorporat-6.6 International Aid and Development Organisations

Earthquake disasters frequently reach international proportions The scale of amajor disaster often exceeds the capabilities and resources of a national gov-ernment and the international aid community is usually quick and generous inits response Aid from the richer countries to the poorer is commonly given foremergency relief to assist recovery after a major earthquake or other disaster

At other times and in non-disaster circumstances assistance is given by thecountries of the developed world to help other countries generate economic

development and to improve the lifestyle and safety of communities It is beingincreasingly realised that assistance to developing countries to help them reducethe effects of future disasters before they occur is more effective than providingaid afterwards: prevention is better than cure.

Disasters are closely related to economic development The great majority

of casualties and disaster effects are suffered in developing countries ment achievements can be wiped out by a major disaster and economic growthreversed The promotion of earthquake protection in the projects and planningactivities of development safeguards development achievement and assists pop-ulations in protecting themselves against needless injury

Develop-There are many organisations and operations devoted to development tance and these have an important role to play in helping countries and com-munities protect themselves against future earthquake disasters Organisationsrepresenting multi-lateral economic assistance (i.e funded by contributions fromseveral countries) include the many United Nations agencies and regional organ-isations of the globe including the European Community, Pan-American, Pan-Arab, Pacific Cooperation, and other multi-nation technical, cooperation, eco-nomic and development organisations International organisations like the RedCross and Red Crescent have significant involvement in most disasters Bilateralaid programmes – provided by a single country directly to another – make up avery large proportion of the economic assistance that passes between countries.Most of the industrialised nations, the members of the Organisation for EconomicCooperation and Development, maintain a government ministry or departmentresponsible for development assistance to other countries, and maintain depart-ments, attach´es or representatives in the embassies and consulates of the countries

assis-to which they disburse aid Other organisations that are instrumental in tional development include non-governmental organisations (NGOs), agencieslike CARE, Oxfam, GTZ, and very many other private organisations which arehumanitarian, religious or developmental in nature Often these NGOs are thechannel for implementing projects in the recipient areas funded by the bilateral

interna-or multi-lateral aid interna-organisations In addition to the international NGOs thereare also large numbers of NGOs within each developing country that implementdevelopment projects and assist in humanitarian activities

The number and types of development organisations are considerable Eachcan, if it directs its efforts in the right direction and is motivated to do so, bringabout effective, sustainable achievements to make communities safer againstfuture earthquakes Incorporation of disaster protection into the activities of devel-opment organisations can be achieved without major shifts of emphasis in theirwork, providing the issues of protection are understood

Earthquake Relief

Many development agencies have an extensive involvement in disaster relief andany major earthquake is likely to involve development organisations working

in that country or region in helping the worst affected communities to recoverfrom its effects Increasingly such organisations are implementing programmes

to reduce the effects of future earthquakes as part of their operations Reliefand reconstruction programmes can contribute to the future safety of the affectedcommunity if they are orientated towards long-term revitalisation of the economyand sustainable development as discussed in Chapters 4 and 5 Short-term needs,such as shelter and food, are undeniable, but provision of emergency assistancewill not result in any sustainable community recovery unless this is followed

up with help to the community to reknit the social structure, re-establish theeconomic activities and regenerate the damaged buildings and structures throughthe normal construction processes and building workforce

The objective for any reconstruction programme in a development context is

to assist the community to rebuild its own economy, houses and workplaces.Reconstruction programmes have rarely been successful where outside agencieshave made the major decisions for the affected community or have built housesfor it or relocated damaged settlements, or introduced new, rapidly built buildingtypes in order to accelerate the reconstruction process Only by allowing theaffected community to maintain control over its own reconstruction can an outsideagency assist a recovery which will be sustainable and seen to be beneficial 10, 20and more years later and that will result in a community less vulnerable to a futureearthquake than it was In practice this means consultation and community-leddecisions on issues like priorities for the assistance that is available, location ofnew facilities, labour available and timing Community consultation and decision-making can be a lengthy process and may appear to place undesirable delays

on the reconstruction operation – delays that it is tempting to short-cut withcentralised planning – but the benefits of having a committed and participatingcommunity will be seen in the sustainability and developmental achievements ofthe project

In housing, for example, the argument has been made in Chapter 5 that ing damaged houses should be carried out by the normal building constructionindustry, expanded if necessary to meet the large-scale demand In many ruralareas and developing regions, houses are built by householders themselves or byvillage craftworkers or small-scale contractors Assistance projects by develop-ment agencies to help these builders meet the reconstruction need is far preferable

rebuild-to the donation of several-thousand housing units

Protection Beyond the Reconstruction Area

It is important in a reconstruction that the processes of building more strongly areestablished as well as the houses being built strongly The next major earthquake

in the region is likely to be nearby – in the next valley or in a neighbouringdistrict The opportunity should be taken to use the earthquake to introduceprotection measures to as broad an area as possible in the neighbouring seismic

region Builders trained in strong construction may be encouraged to use theirskills and qualifications to build for other clients in the neighbouring region, or

to train other builders in nearby villages Development agencies can promoteearthquake protection over a broader region, using the earthquake reconstruction

as the initiating opportunity

Establish Long-term Protection

Apart from broadening the scope of protection activities geographically beyondthe reconstruction area, it is important that the processes of building more stronglyare well established so that they are sustained over time Earthquakes gener-ally have long periods between occurrence, and protecting against them throughimproving the quality of the built environment is a long-term process The build-ings likely to be affected by a future earthquake may not be this generation ofstructures, but those that exist in 20 or 50 years’ time Many more buildings arelikely to be built during the period between earthquakes and if the process ofbuilding them has been improved, then future earthquakes will result in lowerdamage levels But the improved construction skills will need to be maintainedthroughout the next 20 or 50 years

Development organisations involved in post-earthquake emergency and struction operations can help to instigate protection against future earthquakes byestablishing regional and sustainable building improvement programmes as part

recon-of the community-based reconstruction

Building Improvement Programmes

The most vulnerable parts of the built environment are the non-engineered ings constructed by householders, craftworkers or small-scale contractors, from

build-a wide rbuild-ange of locbuild-ally build-avbuild-ailbuild-able build-and purchbuild-ased building mbuild-ateribuild-als The poorearthquake performance and lethal consequences of these building types arewell known Research, analysis and testing of these building types has iden-tified their behaviour in earthquakes and the vulnerability of their constructionpractices

Technical methods of improving the construction of these types of buildings tomake them less vulnerable to earthquakes are described in Chapter 8 The greatestpriority for development organisations concerned with reducing earthquake dis-asters is to implement improved construction techniques in the many thousands

of houses being built across the seismic regions of the developing world Thereare a variety of ways, described below, to encourage a community to improve itsconstruction techniques The most appropriate measures will depend on the type

of community, its normal construction processes and the resources and technicalcapability of the assisting agency

Incentive Programmes

Building improvement programmes may be instigated by encouraging the munity to build to improved building designs and higher technical standards byoffering grants or preferential loans or other incentives to anyone building a newstructure In a grant-based building improvement programme, householders aregiven building plans or construction specifications and are eligible for financialbenefits if their new structure conforms to these standards Financial benefits mayinclude provision of building materials, labour or mechanical assistance, or otherincentives, including services provision or credit Staged assistance is commonwith incentive programmes providing one instalment of grant or building materi-als when the foundations are dug, another when the walls are complete, and againafter the roof is fitted, and so on The advantage of such programmes is that ifthey are administered correctly with each structure being monitored by a compe-tent official, there can be a high degree of confidence that buildings are achievingthe technical levels of construction and design aimed for The disadvantages ofincentive programmes are that they require large resources – both to provide thematerials or grants and to administer – with each new structure requiring at leastone visit by a technical specialist to check that it conforms A further disadvan-tage is that it is seen as prescriptive – the external agency is specifying what isrequired and the community is not in charge of its own building process.Communal Building Programmes

com-Learning-through-doing can be implemented by instigating community projectswhich require the builders and labour force of the community participation groups

to work together under skilled supervision An example of community-buildingprogrammes may be the construction of a public building – a school, a meetinghall, clinic or religious building The community provides labour and perhapsland The development organisation pays for the capital project costs, includingbuilding materials, provision of equipment and may also pay wages or providefood for the community workforce Some community projects have involvedhousing projects where housing is built by the community and allocated to indi-vidual families when the project is complete The community-built project isbuilt to a high standard of earthquake protection using techniques easily repro-ducible by the community when it builds its own houses or additional buildings

at some time in the future The project is designed with this reproducibility as

a deliberate aim, using only the materials, construction methods and skills mally available within the community Experience has shown that working underskilled supervision is an effective way of teaching less skilled builders improvedtechniques that are reproduced in their later projects, unsupervised Communityprojects also have additional benefits of reinforcing social cohesion, improvingdecision-making and community participation Disadvantages with communityprojects are that they are only successful in certain circumstances, and require

nor-a relnor-ationship to be estnor-ablished between the development orgnor-anisnor-ation nor-and thecommunity which may not be achievable on a large scale or with very largenumbers of communities.

Technical Assistance On-site

Building improvement can be achieved by providing technical assistance andadvice at the point it is most needed and effective – during the construction of

a new building and provided on-site while the builder is working (Figure 6.4)

A mobile technical team or skilled supervisor travels through areas during thebuilding season, stopping at sites where construction is happening Advice can beoffered and discussions held about the need for earthquake protection and the bestway to go about it This type of travelling advice can be effective if the advisor isfamiliar in the village, passing through regularly, and a respected figure, perhaps

an experienced master builder from the region itself Considerable coverage of alarge area can be achieved, including many villages and acting as a catalyst forimproved construction at relatively low cost The impact of any advice on-site

is likely to be limited to construction detail rather than broader design decisionsand any completed construction will be unaffected As an additional element inother types of building improvement programme, e.g as technical support forbuilder training off-site, or as follow-up on training and involving recruitmentfor community projects, the provision of technical assistance on-site can be ahighly effective use of additional resources

Builder Training Off-site

In many rural areas, most houses are built by the families that occupy them,and most families would have some building skills in addition to being farmers,animal keepers and the many other occupations that make up the rural familyeconomy But there are often craftworkers within the villages who spend more

of their time building, who have a reputation for building well and may well

be paid by other families to assist with the building of their house In moreaffluent villages these craftworker builders may be professional, earning theirentire living by building to commission In larger villages and towns, buildingmay be fully commercial, with small teams of contracting builders owning theirown construction machinery and operating on a much more formal basis In placeswhere specialist or craftworker builders operate, they can be very influential inthe construction styles and housing quality built by the community

In communities where specialist builders build to commission or helphouseholders build their own homes, selectively training builders is an effectiveway of improving the construction process in a community Builders trained inearthquake-resistant construction can be highly influential within a community,persuading house owners to invest more in earthquake safety and setting examples

Figure 6.4 Building improvement can be achieved by providing advice where it is most needed – on the site of a new building under construction Here a mobile technical sup- port team provide advice on earthquake-resistant construction to builders engaged in the reconstruction after the 1982 Dhamar earthquake, Yemen Arab Republic

for other builders to emulate Builders can be recruited and taken for training at

a local training centre if the project is well publicised and presented in such away as to be prestigious for the trainee Training is carried out over a number

of days by engaging the builder in practical exercises, building sample buildingsunder skilled supervision The core of practical exercises can be supplemented

by classroom teaching, group discussion and educational literature or trainingfilms The objective is to raise the awareness of the builder of earthquake risks,

to convey a limited number of technical messages about earthquake-resistantbuilding and to develop a pride in quality of construction generally withinthe class