POST EARTHQUAKE FIELD INVESTIGATION OF THE MW7.6 PADANG EARTHQUAKE OF 30TH SEPTEMBER 2009

The UK based Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) will be conducting a reconnaissance mission to the Padang region of Sumatra, Indonesia to study the effects of the M7.6 earthquake that occurred on the 30th September 2009. The purpose of this mission is to gain insight into how buildings and infrastructure performed during this earthquake and the consequent effect on the local community. To do this a team of six people will spend approximately 1 week in the field collecting data. On their return, this data will be analysed using novel disaster management tools that will be developed as part of the project and the findings disseminated to both researchers and professional engineers. This grant application seeks financial assistance for the academic members of the EEFIT group to participate in this mission.

Who will benefit from this research? Arguably the greatest disturbance to quality of life is the misery caused by natural disasters. In the case of earthquakes, the affected area is so large, the devastation caused so great and usually, although not always, the people affected so vulnerable, that even the smallest measures to reduce the impact will have an enormous effect on the quality of life of those affected. Progress in earthquake mitigation is mainly achieved by informing researchers of gaps in our earthquake engineering knowledge, informing designers of the flaws in existing design practices, informing disaster management planners and policy makers of how to ensure safer systems, and teaching local communities how they can best prepare for the next event. All will benefit from the research; however in the longer term it is the world's most vulnerable communities that will see the greatest impact. The field observations will serve as guidance to the improvement of building codes in both the affected region and to seismic zones in general. They will be particular important for informing the reconstruction process and will have a direct impact on the future resilience of the local community. An important part of EEFITs work is the training of people in both field collection techniques and practical aspects of earthquake engineering design. In Britain, there is an excellent and active earthquake engineering community; however, it can be difficult for young researchers and engineers to gain practical experience in this important discipline. The three PhD students will receive invaluable training and experience, by visiting the region, collecting data and make damage assessments, this will in turn be of great benefit to the earthquake engineering community in general. How will they benefit from this research? The research proposed in this application will provide benefits in three ways. Firstly, it will identify poor structural design and inform researchers of areas for new research needed to remedy this situation; secondly, it will inform practicing engineers of potentially unsafe structural details and, thirdly, it will assess the ability to provide infrastructure planners with a tool that will give them the potential of protecting infrastructure networks from earthquake induced landslides. This tool will also enable disaster management planners to assess not only the likelihood of landslides, but also the potential impacts of landslides resulting from earthquake events by predicting the resulting run-outs. As many of the countries that experience earthquakes are poor, it is not always possible to find the funds to divert potentially vulnerable roads; however, when complete, the VDV will enable the prioritisation of upgrades to infrastructure networks and planning for alternative ways of supplying disaster relief.