VIDE - Volunteers for India Development and Empowerment

Project Update (September '2002)

Here's a brief summary of our progress on the GujESI project. We are making great progress in the first step of the project which is to assess the current state of earthquake risk and preparedness in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Surat. So far, we have interviewed dozens of people with different areas of expertise to find out if these cities have learned any lessons from the experience of Bhuj. Some interesting, preliminary findings: - Nearly all residential high-rise buildings in these three cities have an open first floor for parking, which is extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. Many people in Ahmedabad have taken measures to strengthen these types of buildings, but often the engineering of these strengthening solutions is very poor and ineffective. Nonetheless, these buildings are among the safest in the cities, unless residents have altered the structures (e.g. removing walls or adding rooftop swimming pools). - We have found that government funded schools have been built to a standard design in Gujarat which is pretty safe (although many have been poorly maintained). On average, government school buildings seem to be safer than private schools because there is no real control over the design of private school buildings. - After the earthquake, training has been given to a number of doctors in the three cities on emergency medical procedures such as triage (sorting through large numbers of patients by their level of urgency). Unfortunately, this training has not extended to nurses and ward boys, those who are most likely to need it. - Both Baroda and Surat have underground gas pipelines. This increases their risk of post-earthquake fires. - Hospitals in Ahmedabad do not conduct drills. One doctor said that he thought emergency evacuation drills or mass casualty drills (where a mass influx of patients is simulated by actors) would cause real panic among less educated people. - Not surprisingly, emergency response officials in Ahmedabad are now very knowledgeable about how to respond to disasters. However, no steps have been taken to ensure that new government employees learn these lessons. In general, we've found the level of emergency preparedness and the quality of construction in these three cities to be better than many other parts of South Asia. However, we still have many more interviews to conduct, particularly in Baroda and Surat. This process of collecting information will be complete by the end of September, and we will analyze this information by the end of October. Best wishes, Laura --------------------------------------------------------- GujESI Interviews as of August 4, 2002 Ahmedabad ========= Building Characteristics ------------------------ * Dr. M.B. Dholakia, Assistant Professor Civil Engineering, L.D. Engineering College, Ahmedabad * Mr. Sunil Rasania, Town Planning Officer, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (West Zone), Ahmedabad * Mr. P.S. Patel, Urban and Rural Planning, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (West Zone), Ahmedabad * Mr. H.N. Desai, Additional City Engineer (Water Supply), Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (West Zone), Ahmedabad * Mr. Kishen Singh, A.G.M. Sales, Bakeri Constructions, Ahmedabad * Mr. Vatsal, Structural Consultant, Vatsal Shah and Assoc., Ahmedabad * Mr. Murlidhar Trivedi, Purchase Manager, Navratna Constructions, Ahmedabad * Mr. Paresh Shah, Assistant Professor Civil Engineering, Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad * Ms. Esha Patel, Graduate of Civil Engineering Dept., Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad * Mr. M. Nagesh, Lecturer, School of Building Science and Technology, CEPT, Ahmedabad * Mr. G.N. Tambe, Director, CEPT, Ahmedabad Land Use and City Planning -------------------------- * Dr. M.B. Dholakia, Assistant Professor Civil Engineering, L.D. Engineering College, Ahmedabad * Mr. Sunil Rasania, Town Planning Officer, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (West Zone), Ahmedabad * Mr.. Navneet Baleua, Chief City Planner, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad * Mr. Kishen Singh, A.G.M. Sales, Bakeri Constructions, Ahmedabad * Mr. Vatsal, Structural Consultant, Vatsal Shah and Assoc., Ahmedabad * Mr. Murlidhar Trivedi, Purchase Manager, Navratna Constructions, Ahmedabad * Mr. M. Nagesh, Lecturer, School of Building Science and Technology, CEPT, Ahmedabad Emergency Medical Response -------------------------- * Dr. Umesh Thakkar, Professor and Acting Superintendent, L.G. Hospital, Maninagar, Ahmedabad * Dr. Pankaj Patel, Professor, Vadilal Hospital, Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad * Dr. Anil Chadha, Medical Superintendent, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad Fire Earthquake Preparedness ---------------------------- * Mr. M.F. Dastoor, Divisional Fire Officer, Fire Department, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad General Emergency Preparedness ------------------------------ * Two representatives of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation * AMC Resident Collector Vadodara ======== Emergency Medical Response -------------------------- * Dr. Kamal J. Pathak, Superintendent, SSG Hospital, Vadodara Fire Earthquake Preparedness ---------------------------- * Chief Fire Officer Surat ===== Building Characteristics ------------------------ * Mr. Atul K. Desai, Lecturer, Applied Mechanics Department, S.V. Regional College of Engineering and Technology, Surat * Mr. Chandresh H. Solanki, Lecturer, Applied Mechanics Department, S.V. Regional College of Engineering and Technology, Surat * Mr. B.J. Mehta, Applied Mechanics Department, S.V. Regional College of Engineering and Technology, Surat Fire Emergency Preparedness --------------------------- * G.M. Kothwala, Chief Fire Officer, Fire Department, Municipal Corporation, Surat ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Revised GujESI Schedule (Proposal) ---------------------------------- A. Complete interviews and other data collection efforts in all cities - June 15 to September 30, 2002 B. Discussions of GHI and SEEDS about data - October 7 to October 11, 2002 (Proposed visit of Shivangi Chavda) C. Complete Analysis of collected data and prepare attractive results aimed at a non-technical audience - October 7 to October 31, 2002 D. Conduct Community Forums in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Surat - November, 2002 (exact date not yet scheduled, all three should occur within one two week period) E. Conduct Joint Workshop with representatives from the three cities and representatives from other communities in Gujarat (probably limited to communities within 1 hour driving radius) - December or January, 2002 (exact date not yet scheduled)

TOP

HOME ABOUT US PROGRAMS VOLUNTEERS PARTNERS EVENTS MEDIA ARTICLES FAQ CONTACT US