How can a place be built and managed so that it is safe for people to live? Ironically, many governments and citizens keep on asking the same question after every new disaster. Why, even with high levels of investment in increasing government’s capacity to manage disasters, do the impacts of disasters continue to increase? What can the governments do differently? What is the role of local communities? Where should aid agencies invest? This book looks into these critical questions and highlights how current capacity development efforts might be resulting in the opposite—capacity crisis or capability trap. The book provides a new approach for the understanding and the developing of effective local capacity to reduce and manage future disaster impacts.

Impacts and Insights of Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal offers a practical perspective on disaster risk management using lessons learned and considerations from the 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal, which was the worst disaster to hit Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. Using a holistic approach to examine seismicity, risk perception and intervention, the book serves as a detailed case study to improve disaster resilience globally, including social, technical, governmental and institutional risk perception, as well as scientific understanding of earthquake disasters. Covering the details of the Gorkha earthquake, including damage mapping and recovery tactics, the book offers valuable insights into ways forward for seismologists, earthquake researchers and engineers and policy-makers. - Includes the latest status of seismic risk, risk perception, to-date interventions and historical scenarios in Nepal - Examines details of Gorkha earthquake, including geo-seismicity, damage statistics, casualties, effect on cultural heritage, gender-risk mechanics, case studies of social institutions, urban-risk mechanics, rural-risk mechanics, resilience dimensions, social institutions in risk management, stories of resilience and failures and a critical review of efficacy of interventions in risk mitigation - Offers future insights and ways forward in terms of risk reduction studies, socio-cultural dimensions of risk management, scientific intervention and policy making, implementation of existing frameworks and endorsement of resilient practices for Nepal - Includes damage mapping in all affected areas

Account of Gujarat earthquake of January 26, 2001.

This book presents selected papers presented during the International Symposium on Earthen Structures held in IISc Bangalore. The papers in this volume cover the theme of earthen structures, with technical content on materials and methods, structural design and seismic performance, durability, seismic response, climatic response, hygrothermal performance and durability, design and codes, architecture, heritage and conservation, and technology dissemination. This book will be of use to professionals, academics, and students in architecture and engineering.

Prepared by the Earthquake Investigation Committee of the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering of ASCE. This TCLEE Monograph describes the performance of lifelines in two earthquakes: the Gujarat earthquake of January 26, 2001, and the Napa earthquake of September 3, 2000. The Gujarat earthquake severely struck the Kutch District of the Gujarat State, India, and resulted in about 17,000 fatalities, 150,000 injuries, and left more than 500,000 homeless. The most heavily damaged lifelines were water and electric power. Other lifelines were substantially affected included communications, wastewater, ports, railways, highways, roads, and bridges. The Napa Earthquake was a moderate-sized earthquake in California. Recorded peak ground accelerations were as high as 0.49g, with a recorded peak ground velocity of 15 inches per second. This report presents the findings for the following lifelines: water, telephone, highways, railroads, ports, hospitals, airports, fire department response, radio communications, highway bridges, electric, and natural gas.

This handbook is designed to guide public sector managers and development practitioners through the process of large-scale housing reconstruction after major disasters, based on the experiences of recent reconstruction programs in Aceh (Indonesia), Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Gujarat (India) and Bam (Iran).