Delhi Earthquake Safety Initiative

Ludlow Castle School, undergoing retrofit. After structural retrofitting and earthquake preparedness training for faculty, staff, students and parents, Ludlow Castle School was officially designated a "model safe school" by the Indian government.

Delhi, India
2002-2008

THE PROBLEM:

This multi-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was designed to improve earthquake safety in several major cities in India. In particular, it addressed the vital issue of the earthquake safety performance of "lifeline buildings" (i.e., important facilities) in Delhi, the capital city of India. Delhi is located in seismic zone IV, the second highest earthquake hazard zone in India. Many lifeline buildings could be damaged when earthquakes strike, limiting the government's ability to deliver critical services.

GHI'S RESPONSE:

The Delhi Earthquake Safety Initiative for Lifeline Buildings aimed to improve seismic safety in India by building capacity to undertake seismic assessment and retrofit projects. In order to accomplish this goal, GeoHazards International (GHI) adopted an experience-based, hands-on approach, pairing highly regarded and experienced US practitioners from the private, public, academic, and non-governmental sectors with local Indian counterparts to transfer knowledge and arrive at locally appropriate solutions. A peer review panel of Indian and American experts provided technical expertise and mentoring to local engineers and officials responsible for carrying out the retrofit work. The project's purpose was to provide a model program for seismic evaluation and retrofit which could be replicated throughout India and other countries.

GHI worked with Delhi government officials to select five lifeline buildings to be retrofit as part of this project. The buildings were: the Delhi Secretariat, the Delhi Police Headquarters, Ludlow Castle School, several buildings at Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, and the Delhi Divisional Commissioner's Office. The project buildings house a number of important activities that will be even more critical following an earthquake.

Over the course of the project, the engineering peer review panel carried out site visits and walk-through inspections of all project buildings in Delhi. Members toured the experimental facilities at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, as well as several Delhi Public Works Department projects currently under construction. Indian panel members traveled to California for technical tours of retrofitted buildings in the San Francisco Bay area and presentations by local earthquake engineering experts. The panel undertook an extensive series of technical discussions and decisions, held public forums, reviewed construction documents, quality control plans, and construction.

The peer review panel mentored Delhi Public Works Department engineers through the process of evaluating the earthquake safety of each project building, and of determining the technically, economically, and functionally appropriate retrofit solution for each building. Ludlow Castle School was retrofit using a prescriptive system of microconcrete "seismic belts" developed in India and specified in the Indian building code. Two concrete office buildings at the Delhi Divisional Commissioner's Office complex are being retrofit using reinforced concrete shear walls. The retrofit scheme for the Secretariat will consist of "wrapping" columns to improve their ability to deform during an earthquake, and Police Headquarters will be retrofit using a combination of new shear walls and modification of existing walls. At GTB Hospital, the retrofit will consist of anchoring interior brick partition walls and equipment. The Delhi government has completed construction of two buildings and has committed to completing retrofit construction for the remaining buildings.

LONG-TERM OUTCOMES:

Through this project, Ludlow Castle School has developed comprehensive awareness and evacuation plans, conducted preparedness drills, and undergone structural retrofitting. Designated by the Government of Delhi as a "model safe school," it now serves as the prototype for activities that will be replicated in nine additional schools, one from each school district in Delhi: all will receive technical support from GHI.
The project built capacity in earthquake engineering among Delhi government engineers and trained a set of trainers for similar, future initiatives. The Delhi Public Works Department created a "circle" for seismic retrofit within its organization, to be headed by the project's Engineering Team Leader Anil Pandit. The circle will oversee the retrofit of project buildings and carry out seismic retrofits of additional buildings. The creation of the circle was strongly supported by the Delhi Government.
The project effectively demonstrated how to identify vulnerabilities in buildings and how to reduce earthquake risk.
The project educated stakeholders about nonstructural concerns (falling hazards) that can pose immediate danger to building users, even without the occurrence of an earthquake.
The project produced a set of earthquake safety training manuals for teachers and students that outlined in lay language a broad range of inexpensive steps to take to reduce earthquake and falling hazards in school buildings or at home.
Through the project's Global Development Alliance component, GHI developed ongoing partnerships and innovative project models with the private sector.
Ludlow Castle school has become a model for earthquake safety, both locally and nationally.

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Delhi Earthquake Safety Initiative

Delhi, India 2002-2008

THE PROBLEM:

GHI'S RESPONSE:

LONG-TERM OUTCOMES:

Delhi, India
2002-2008