Some ideas on buildings and construction practices in Haiti

The damage done by the Haiti earthquake made it abundantly clear that Haitian buildings were not built to modern seismic standards--or, perhaps, even to 40 or 50 year old standards. The failure of buildings was likely a result of the nature of the construction itself--which I am trying to learn more about, although it looks like a lot of concrete in the bigger buildings--or a result of the nature of the ground on which the buildings were located. The structures that fell into ravines were probably on steep slopes that were prone to sliding. I am also trying to learn more about whether that sliding was exacerbated by the huge deforestation problem in Haiti, where landslides remain a constant threat during rain and hurricanes because there's little to prevent erosion and mudslides. 


With that in mind, some links 

• "Building Better Schools in Poor, Shaky Places" [New York Times]
• ""Destruction of schools in Haiti quake crushes hopes of a better future for many" -- [Washington Post]
• For latest news on earthquake research in Haiti, see www.eeri.org
• Haiti Building Standards Development Project [Organization of American States]
• "Poor building codes, perfect-storm earthquake led to massive destruction in Haiti, experts say [Los Angeles Times] -- Very interesting article comparing the magnitude of this earthquake to the 1989 Loma Prieta event, which had a much different outcome.
• International Code Council page on Haiti efforts.

And this New York Times article is prima facie evidence of what I had suspected--little steel reinforced concrete, poor mix, awful design and construction practices.


I look forward to hearing more from the engineering and geoscience communities on these issues.