25/01/07

Cheap, easy trick for rural Nepal against earthquakes

A new technique could improve earthquake-resistance in Nepalese houses Copyright: Wikipedia

By: Bishnu CK

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Cheap, easy trick for rural Nepal against earthquakes</h1>
<h4>By: Bishnu CK</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><P>A cheap and easy technique could help rural Nepalese protect their houses from damaging earthquakes, researchers announced on Nepal’s Earthquake Day last week (15 January). </P><br />
<P>A simple method, developed by scientists at the Nepal Institute of Engineering’s Center for Disaster Studies, fortifies stone and unfired bricks — the main materials used to make village houses — with mud and bamboo, which are easily available locally, as well as gabion wire. </P><br />
<P>The technique works by punching a one-meter square grid of holes in the wall and covering it with a bamboo net on the inside and outside. Gabion wire is then inserted in the holes to fasten the net, and the holes covered with mud to protect the net. </P><br />
<P>Since the wire is the only direct cost, researchers say improved earthquake-resistance would cost US$20–30 per house. </P><br />
<P>Major earthquakes measuring eight or higher on the Richter scale have hit Nepal every 70 to 100 years since 1255 AD and geologists believe the next one is due. Hopefully the trick will help the otherwise wholly unprepared villagers survive.</P><br />
<P>Thir Bahadur GC, chief of the natural disaster section at Nepal’s home ministry, said the government donates to a central disaster relief fund each year. But he warned there was a shortage of trained rescue workers.</P><br />
<P>Amod Mani Dixit, of Nepal’s National Society For Earthquake Technology, said earthquakes are a ‘human-friendly’ disaster, which can be prepared for.</P><br />
<P>Unplanned urbanisation without considering earthquake safety in construction could lead to “serious disaster”, said Dixit. </P><br />
<P>According to OhmyNews, Nepal’s National Society for Earthquake Technology estimates that if the current state of unpreparedness does not improve, a future earthquake would cause 40,000 deaths, and make some 600,000 to 900,000 people homeless.</P>The last major earthquake in Nepal occurred in 1934 and killed some 8,500 people.<BR><BR></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/cheap-easy-trick-for-rural-nepal-against-earthqua/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/news/cheap-easy-trick-for-rural-nepal-against-earthqua/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

A cheap and easy technique could help rural Nepalese protect their houses from damaging earthquakes, researchers announced on Nepal’s Earthquake Day last week (15 January).

A simple method, developed by scientists at the Nepal Institute of Engineering’s Center for Disaster Studies, fortifies stone and unfired bricks — the main materials used to make village houses — with mud and bamboo, which are easily available locally, as well as gabion wire.

The technique works by punching a one-meter square grid of holes in the wall and covering it with a bamboo net on the inside and outside. Gabion wire is then inserted in the holes to fasten the net, and the holes covered with mud to protect the net.

Since the wire is the only direct cost, researchers say improved earthquake-resistance would cost US$20–30 per house.

Major earthquakes measuring eight or higher on the Richter scale have hit Nepal every 70 to 100 years since 1255 AD and geologists believe the next one is due. Hopefully the trick will help the otherwise wholly unprepared villagers survive.

Thir Bahadur GC, chief of the natural disaster section at Nepal’s home ministry, said the government donates to a central disaster relief fund each year. But he warned there was a shortage of trained rescue workers.

Amod Mani Dixit, of Nepal’s National Society For Earthquake Technology, said earthquakes are a ‘human-friendly’ disaster, which can be prepared for.

Unplanned urbanisation without considering earthquake safety in construction could lead to “serious disaster”, said Dixit.

According to OhmyNews, Nepal’s National Society for Earthquake Technology estimates that if the current state of unpreparedness does not improve, a future earthquake would cause 40,000 deaths, and make some 600,000 to 900,000 people homeless.

The last major earthquake in Nepal occurred in 1934 and killed some 8,500 people.