POST EARTHQUAKE FIELD INVESTIGATION OF THE M8.0 SAMOA ISLANDS EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

The UK Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) has decided to mount a reconnaissance mission to the Samoa Islands region following the earthquake of magnitude 8.0MW, which occurred on the 29th September 2009 and subsequent tsunami. A team of six people, (coastal and earthquake engineers), are planning to leave for Apia, Samoa on the 3rd November 2009 and spend 6 days in the disaster zone to conduct a technical evaluation of the earthquake and tsunami and carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of protection measures by surveying the damage and interviewing local government officials and survivors of the event. The four academic members of the team comprise the PI (Dr Alison Hunt-Raby, a Lecturer and coastal engineer from the University of Plymouth), the team leader (Dr Emily So, a Chartered Civil Engineer who will be employed as a researcher at the University of Plymouth) and two researchers from University College London (Tristan Robinson, a Teaching Fellow and Tristan Lloyd, a PhD student, both tsunami specialists). The further team members are practicing engineers with expertise in seismology, tsunami modelling and geotechnical engineering.This application seeks financial support to help meet the travel costs of the participating academic team members and to aid EEFIT support entry of collected field data (photographs and observations) into an improved version of the Virtual Disaster Viewer system developed following the EPSRC funded China Earthquake mission in 2008 (Grant Ref: EP/G030111/1). This platform will allow members of the global earthquake engineering community, especially to review and provide their assessment of damage by comparing before and after satellite images of the affected areas and to remotely and in real-time upload their own field data as it is collected for rapid dissemination. Dissemination through the improved Virtual Disaster Viewer system will increase the effectiveness of earthquake reporting, promoting awareness of earthquake risk. It will also be a shared repository for observations made by several international teams of experts. Hence, this initiative will continue to strengthen existing, and foster new relationships between researchers and engineers in EEFIT and the worldwide earthquake engineering community.

The project can impact 3 main groups: On a local community level- advice and guidance in preparing for future events in other areas of the country and reconstruction planning can be obtained from the group of diverse experts. On the UK engineering community- we can gain a better understanding of causes and types of damage for natural disasters. This type of work is also essential in training future leaders of the profession. On the international community- this project adds significantly to learning from earthquakes and tsunamis and enhances UK reputation for such field reconnaissance work. Communications and engagement Before the mission- every effort has been made by the mission leader to make contact with leaders of international teams deployed to the two Samoan islands since the 29 September event. Meetings have now been set up with Dr William Power of GNS before the mission and once in Samoa with Mr Steven Mecartney from WHO and with Dr Jan Steffen, the Regional Scientific Officer for UNESCO. Discussions at these meetings will revolve around what the EEFIT team can offer in terms of expertise and ideas. Whilst in Samao, the team will engage staff and officers of relevant government ministries in our survey teams. The team proposes to gather valuable information from the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami and the help and support of locals will be key for this element of work. Therefore partnering with regional experts from relevant research organizations such as the University of South Pacific (USP) will be crucial and Randy Thaman from USP has already been contacted. In addition, there will also be an exchange of personal experiences from previous studies and events, contacts from the international community which may be invaluable to the local academics and the community. In order to ensure the level of engagement with each of these groups and the UK engineering community are maintained throughout and beyond the duration of the project we proposes to do the following: - Whilst in Samoa, images from the affected area will be posted at the end of each day on the Virtual Disaster Viewer. - After the mission, within 2 weeks of returning to the UK, the team will present their findings to the UK engineering community at the Institution of Structural Engineers. At the same time, more informal discussions and presentation will be held in the funded host academic institutions. Collaboration This event has brought together teams of international scientists and professionals from all around the globe. Some of these, like GNS and EERI are old alliances but many, including ITS and NOAA are newly formed contacts. These informal cooperation and exchange of ideas will be foundations to future international collaborations. Working with the likes of UNESCO , ITS, NOAA and EERI, amongst others, EEFIT will once again be demonstrating its expertise in the area of earthquake reconnaissance. Capability The PI Dr Hunt- Rabyand researcher Dr Robinson are both lecturers in schools of engineering in the UK. The experience and observations obtained from this field study will no doubt disseminate through to inspire students and future leaders of the profession. In particular Dr Hunt-Raby is a beneficiary partner in a DfID-funded project that aims to incorporate concepts of global engineering into undergraduate degree programmes; materials obtained will be invaluable for a case study. As a PhD student, Mr Tristan Lloyd is best placed to apply the findings from the field to his own research, examining the vulnerability of coastal infrastructure to tsunami. In addition, the mission leader Dr Emily So will be starting on her post-doc fellowship at the USGS early next year. Whilst working with the PAGER group, she will take responsibility in undertaking activities to promote UK expertise in field reconnaissance as well as apply the findings from this project in guiding global rapid loss estimation in the future.