For Safe and Happy Bhutan

Non Structural
Mitigation
Few would disagree that our
children deserve the right
a safe
to education…
..yet time and time again we fail our children
with unsafe, unprepared schools.
 India, January 26, 2001
M 7.7 Bhuj Earthquake
• Friday, 8:46 a.m.
Republic Day
Holiday. School not
in session.

• 971 school children

and 31 teachers
were killed.

• 1,051 elementary
school students, 95
teachers seriously Courtesy: IIT Meerut
injured.
 India, January 26, 2001
M 7.7 Bhuj Earthquake

• 32 children
were killed
at the
Swami
Narayan
School in Courtesy: EERC, University of California, Berkley

Ahmedabad Swami Narayan School.

 Italy, October 31, 2002
M 5.6 Molise Earthquake
• Thursday, 11:40
• Children were
a.m.
in school.

• 27 children and 2
teachers died.

• San Giuliani infant

school collapsed.
Courtesy: EERI

Collapsed school in San Giuliano di Puglia

 Pakistan, October 8, 2005
M 7.8 Kashmir Earthquake
• Saturday, 8:50a.m.
•
Children were in
school.
• About 20,000 school
children were killed in
school collapses. At
least 50,000 school
children were
seriously injured and
may have disabilities.
• More than 10,000 UNESCO Islamabad

schools collapsed. Mass grave at the site of high school collapse in Balakot
 Pakistan, October 8, 2005
M 7.8 Kashmir Earthquake
• Surviving
teachers
are
traumatized
by the
deaths of
their
students. Courtesy: Charles Scawthorn / MEERI

Collapsed school.
 China, May 12, 2008, 14:28 hrs Local time
Sichuan Earthquake M 8.3
• Children were in
•
school.

• 69,197 people
lost their lives
• Thousands of
school children
were killed in
school
collapses.
China 2008- in the same tectonic
system as we are..
Lessons we need to take..
 Bhutan, Sept 21, 2009, 14:53 hrs
Mongar Earthquake M 6.3
••12 people lost
their lives.
• Some children
were in school.
• Many schools
had sent
children home
early in
preparation for
the Blessed
rainy day

• Luck
Photo: MARK LAPRAIRIE
 Sikkim 18 September, 2011
• 6.9 M earthquake
• 19.7 km deep
• 30-40 seconds
• Maximum Intensity VII
• 18:40 hrs
• Sunday
What happens in a institution during a large
earthquake?
• Violent shaking
• Falling items
• Very hazardous locations,
such as near windows or
in chemistry lab
• Injuries
• Power outage
• No telephone service
• Kobe NSM GHS.wmv
• Fires might develop
• Blocked doors and exits
• Damaged and cluttered
hallways or stairways
• Students are frightened
and separated from their
families
• Dangerous routes home
 Falling Hazards

The Building need not collapse for an

earthquake to cause losses.
 Consequences of Earthquakes
Objects Inside Buildings Slide, Fall or Topple
• People can be
injured
• Exits can be
blocked
• Expensive
equipment could be
lost
• Undamaged
buildings are not
usable
 What can happen in the
school?
• It could injure or even kill a child
• It could block an exit
• It could break and have to be replaced
• Also, for some items:
• Hazardous chemicals could spill
• Gas could leak and start a fire or explode
• Records could get mixed up
Examples of Damage
Examples of Damage Inside Schools
What Hazards?
What Hazards?
What Hazards?
Spot the hazards!!
 Mitigation
• Lessening or limitation of Adverse Impact
of Hazards and Related Disaster

• Structural (Retention wall, RC shear walls

Steel braces)
• Eco-system based (Bio engineering)
• Non-Structural Mitigation
Two buildings. .same test. Different results

What might had happened

inside the standing building??
 Non-structural Components
Building contents and components that are not part of the
physical structure, i.e., everything except the columns, floors,
beams, and load-bearing walls.
 Some items in the school that could
be hazardous
• Cupboards
• Display cabinets
• Storage/ File cabinets
• Ceiling fixtures – lights, fans etc.
• Picture frames
• Wall clocks
• Library shelves
• Flower pots
• Glass windows
• Lab equipment
• Chemicals
• Water tanks
• Many more
 Watch out for!!
• Tall and heavy furniture
• Things that may block doors, exits,
stairways etc.
• Things that may hinder smooth evacuation
 What should we do
• Mitigation:
• Eliminating a hazard or reducing
exposure to it in order to prevent an
emergency or minimize its impact.
 Mitigation Measures
STEP 1 -Identify the Hazards:
• Looking at each and every room with
“disaster risk reduction eyes”
• Sit in each room at child level – at the level
of the shortest member in your family or in
the class
• Question to ask yourself – “If a major
earthquake happens at this moment what
are things that could cause injury to people
in the room?”
What are the hazards here?
STEP 2 -Once you’ve identified
the hazards...Take action.
•Identify which mitigation activities will most
reduce your risk of injury and damage.
•Determine which activities can be
accomplished at little or no cost (e.g.,
securing bookcases to walls, closed
hooks for pictures and mirrors)
•Routinely check any protective measures
you have already taken to confirm that
they are still effective.
What Can we do to reduce Non-Structural Hazards?????

• Relocate which can be relocated

• Secure/fix Non-structural elements and
Furnishing
 What can we use to secure objects?
• L Brackets
Plastic clips and straps
Metal Hooks
Mechanical Latches
Rubber mats
 What did we learn so far?
• Non-structural mitigation is important –
Falling hazards are huge hazards
• Buildings need not to collapse for an
earthquake to cause casualties and losses
• Building contents that can fall in an
earthquake are called Falling hazards
• Falling hazards can cause injury, block exits
or cause economic losses
• These can be mitigated
• Don’t forget – Falling hazards cause 50% of
all casualties in a disaster
Thank you