Learnings from implementing a project on earthquake resilience

América Bendito has spent the past three years working with UNESCO on the Built Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean (BERLAC) project (2020–2023). 

This project sought to develop risk-informed policies and engineering techniques in six countries:  Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and Peru. These countries were selected for their particularly high exposure to earthquakes: of the 92 major earthquakes to hit the region since 2000, 37 have occurred in Central America and 12 in the Caribbean. The project also used artificial intelligence and other techniques to assess the structural soundness of existing buildings, including schools, with a view to retrofitting them, if necessary. 

What sparked your passion for improving the safety of the built environment globally and in Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically?

By coincidence, I was born in Venezuela twelve months to the day before one of the most devastating earthquakes in the country's history, which struck Caracas in 1967. I've always seen this as a sign of my destiny. 

Disasters have the potential to set back a nation's development for years and even decades. They can disrupt institutional investment programmes, exacerbate poverty, limit access to healthcare or education and shift developmental priorities for decades. 

However, disasters are not just immediate events. My personal experiences have taught me that the extent of damage often hinges on whether there is a culture of prevention within the affected society. 

During my tenure as a university professor in Venezuela, I had the opportunity not just to teach but also to engage actively with communities. We worked together to implement preventive measures to mitigate the impact of flooding, such as constructing barriers and hedge rows and earthquakes by retrofitting houses. This significantly reduced flooding and protected the village in which we were working in the Mérida province. 

To draw on another personal experience, I recall a time when I was living in an apartment building when a moderate earthquake struck. My initial reaction, after the immediate ‘drop, cover, hold on’ reflex, was to hope that the building would prove to be structurally sound. As the tremors slowly subsided, I ran outside to wait for possible aftershocks. My fears, thankfully, did not materialize. 

In the aftermath, the building sustained only non-structural damage. It had withstood the quake because it adhered to the country’s building codes.  

Occasions like this underscore the importance of having updated building codes that incorporate lessons learned from past disasters. These building codes should be complemented by strict compliance monitoring, smart land-use planning and education and awareness-raising about earthquake and climate-related risks. 

Had the building not followed these updated codes, I may not have survived. This experience has only strengthened my conviction about the importance of preparedness and prevention in mitigating the impact of disasters. 

What motivated you to become involved in this project in Latin America and the Caribbean?

This project aligns perfectly with my professional and personal objectives, as it combines my passion and experience in risk reduction. 

In the tale for children of the Three Little Pigs, I identify strongly with the third little pig. In this tale, the first two little pigs build houses made of straw and sticks, whereas the third little pig diligently builds his house from bricks, prioritizing durability and resilience over convenience. When the Big Bad Wolf comes along, he manages to blow down the houses made of straw and sticks but the house made of bricks remains standing.   

Like the third little pig in the story, I am committed to building a solid framework of prevention and resilience, as I know that proactive action today can prevent problems tomorrow.

Could you elaborate on why the BERLAC project has paid so much attention to improving risk-informed policies?

Minimizing the impact of earthquakes is a complex process that demands a nuanced approach. This approach is rooted in understanding the two key ingredients of effective risk mitigation, namely, the hazard itself and the social and infrastructural vulnerability. 

Once you are armed with this scientific understanding, the next crucial step is to apply this knowledge in practice. If I may draw a parallel with baking a cake, you need to have a well-crafted recipe to determine how much of each ingredient you need to bake a tasty cake. So, here, you need to take your scientific understanding to bake a cake that we shall call robust policy tools. This cake will contain building codes, land-use regulations, control systems, maintenance planning, professional licensing frameworks, retrofitting strategies, financial incentives and comprehensive databases with records of existing buildings. 

However, just as a recipe doesn't automatically yield a well-baked cake, scientific knowledge doesn't instantly translate into effective policies. To pursue my cake analogy, you need to know when to mix in each ingredient, how to prepare the cake tin, how much to heat the oven and how long to leave the cake inside. In other words, you need to take the local context into consideration, to have the right policies in place and to have the skill to combine everything correctly. 

Informed policies, when executed correctly, promote public safety, mitigate the environmental impact, ensure structural resilience, maintain construction quality and guide responsible urban development. By enforcing these regulations, governments can create built environments that are safe, healthy, sustainable and resilient for current and future generations, much like a sturdy, well-baked cake will both delight the taste buds and be nourishing. 

In the analysis of building regulations in the six participating countries, did any findings surprise you?

Our analysis of building regulations in these countries brought to light several critical issues. One was the apparent dearth of professionals and the low technical capacity of the professionals who use building codes to design their constructions. This issue is akin to a hospital lacking enough qualified doctors. Just as a hospital cannot function effectively without skilled medical professionals, building regulation systems will also falter if there are not enough competent professionals to design, implement and oversee the building codes. 

Another significant problem was the dearth of staff in the institutions that validate and oversee the implementation of these building codes. This situation can be compared to a school with too few teachers. Like a school in which students don't get enough attention and guidance for lack of teachers, these institutions struggle to validate and oversee the implementation of building codes for lack of staff. 

A third issue that emerged during our analysis was the number of buildings needing retrofitting. Surprisingly, some countries do not even have regulations for this crucial aspect of the built environment. Seismic retrofitting is often a low priority. This is like neglecting to maintain and service a car regularly. Just as ignoring regular maintenance can lead to a breakdown later, ignoring seismic retrofitting can result in disaster when an earthquake occurs. 

Two individuals sift through the rubble in the aftermath of an earthquake, illustrating the dire consequences of disregarding seismic retrofitting - a crucial aspect of maintaining the built environment. 

Our policy review resulted in several recommendations focusing on each of the parties involved in the construction process that, if effectively implemented, could significantly benefit the local population of the six countries in question. For example, we recommended using a QR code to increase the accountability of construction participants in adhering to the building codes. Another is for external entities such as financial institutions or service providers to request building permits from owners before delivering their services. 

What challenges have you encountered in implementing this project?

Securing funding for prevention has proved to be a major challenge. The crux of the issue lies in the intangible nature of preventive measures. Their effectiveness will only be proven once an earthquake strikes but that may not happen for years, making it difficult to justify the need for such measures to funders. 

Further complicating the situation is the lack of metrics to gauge the potential outcome, were these preventive measures not to be taken today. This lack of modelling makes it harder to assess the real impact of our work in the absence of an earthquake. 

We faced unique challenges in each of the six countries. These included political stability, cultural and linguistic differences and distinct timelines for each partner. Yet, these challenges also presented us with valuable opportunities. 

Working hand in hand with UNESCO’s field offices, engaging with a multitude of partners and interacting with local populations in these countries reinforced my belief in the power of teamwork and collaboration. The spirit of teamwork that pervaded this project was pivotal in surmounting these challenging circumstances. 

For instance, in the Dominican Republic, we often had to drive along poorly accessible roads. This difficulty was compounded by the length and intensity of the assessment process. However, the commitment shown by students and professors from the local university and schools made our task so much easier. 

Another prime example of collaboration is that we witnessed between Japanese and Cuban engineers. Together, they proposed retrofitting solutions that will significantly enhance the safety of the Giron building type that you see everywhere in Santiago de Cuba. This type of building is commonly used for schools, government buildings and hospitals.  

One challenge we faced was the scarcity of data, particularly when it came to assessing the safety of schools and access routes like roads and bridges. It was heartening to see our local partners rise to the occasion, volunteering to devise innovative solutions to bridge these data gaps. They even offered to use drones to survey all the bridges for which we lacked data, thereby ensuring our algorithm's efficiency. 

In the Dominican Republic, we used drones to collect data and in Haiti 3D printers to print miniature bricks to demonstrate seismic reinforcement techniques to civil engineering students. It was so gratifying to witness how quickly these young men and women embraced these technologies. 

Where do you go from here?

During our final workshop in the Dominican Republic last December, we received confirmation of the six countries’ willingness to move the BERLAC initiative into its second phase.  

Funding permitting, we plan to expand BERLAC's scope in these six countries and refine our approach based on the feedback we received from the conference in December.  

Our plans include assessing schools and hospitals across entire countries, collaborating on retrofitting strategies for various building types, and conducting nationwide workshops to educate local construction workers about seismic safety. I am thrilled about the potential impact this extension of the project will have on the local population.