The Guardian:“Nepal earthquake: a disaster that shows quakes don’t kill people, buildings doAr
The Guardian:“Nepal earthquake: a disaster that shows quakes don’t kill people, buildings doAround three-quarters of all deaths in earthquakes are due to building collapse – and poor people bear the brunt. As rescue efforts continue in Nepal, Robin Cross argues for safer, more resilient reconstructionRobin Cross. 30 April 2015.The kind of earthquake that hit Nepal last week is a periodic event in the country: the last was in 1934. For years, the international community knew another big quake was due in Kathmandu. The disaster is that we have not prepared sufficiently for a predictable event. In a world of increased urban densification, rapidly expanding informal settlements and development that outstrips a government’s ability to enforce standards, it is poorly designed and constructed buildings, not earthquakes, which are the real catastrophe.In many cases, the rush of urbanisation has produced some of the most dangerous built environments: multi-storey buildings, over-reliance on concrete and a loss of knowledge that protected previous generations.“Photo: Collapsed buildings in Kathmandu following the earthquake on 25 April. Photograph by UPI/Landov/Barcroft Media -- source link
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