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“Many lost their lifetime investment and place to live.”

“Our responsibility as engineers is to make buildings safer by sharing what we know around the world.”

MIYAMOTO BUILDS HOPE. In a joint public-pri- vate initiative, earthquake engineering specialist firm Miyamoto International received funding from SAMARTH- UKAID on behalf of the government of Nepal to conduct an expert safety as- sessment. The report from Miyamoto’s experts confirmed that the Annapurna region in the Himalayas in north-central Nepal, a major tourist area, sustained “very little damage, with the 3 percent of buildings damaged in the quake easily repairable.” The assessment of the Annapurna re- gion was made by a team of geotechni- cal and structural engineering experts, accompanied by local mountain guides. The teams were sent to conduct a tech- nical inspection of the main trekking routes and select villages ahead of the monsoon season. “The aim of the report was to develop an overall understanding of the extent of the damage from the earthquakes so that we could assess the safety of the re- gion’s trekking routes,” Miyamoto ex- plains.

Miyamoto is working to provide expert consultation to developers and resi- dences. But the firm’s experts some- times find themselves acting in more of a counselor role than that of an engi- neering firm. “The government of Nepal also often asks for our advice,” Miyamoto says. “We are developing a rural housing concept with our partner. More than 700,000 houses have been lost here.” Miyamoto says that the firm is current- ly in the process of hiring Nepalese en- gineers to staff a joint venture compa- ny with two of the largest multination- al businesses, which will be called Miya- moto Nepal. The villages outside the city were hit es- pecially hard and are awaiting relief. Miyamoto says he is hearing from peo- ple all over Nepal who need help. As a result, he had a meeting with U.S. Em- bassy officials to see what could be done. He says that the firm even got an email from a villager who asked Miyamoto to assess his small house, “our only house, built by my father.”

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Miyamoto’s nonprofit organization is collecting money, which will go to disaster relief in Nepal. Learn more here: Miyamotorelief.org.

The assessment is believed to be the first ever completed by international earth- quake engineering specialists on trek- king routes in Nepal, and the recom- mendations include opportunities to manage potential hazards not associat- ed with the April and May earthquakes. “Annapurna is ready to open for busi- ness,” Miyamoto says. “The report high- lights areas where organizations can help Nepal rebuild stronger than ever. We now have the information needed to take action. ” Relief and reconstruction is led and pro- vided by the Nepalese private sector, which continuously sends supplies and food to disaster areas: They contacted Miyamoto to ask for his firm’s support. “Many lost their lifetime investment and place to live,” he says.

MEBER 21, 2015, ISSUE 1120

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