Identifying earthquake-unsafe schools and setting priorities to make them safe: a case study In Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT

After the January 26, 2001 Gujarat Earthquake, GeoHazards International (GHI) was concerned about the risk of school buildings in the largest Gujarat cities and asked the Volunteers for India Development and Empowerment (VIDE) and NGOs Kobe to help fund a study that would identify earthquake-unsafe school buildings in Ahmedabad, Baroda and Surat. VIDE and NGOs Kobe agreed to help. GHI worked with its Indian partner organization, SEEDS, to evaluate 153 schools 42 in Ahmedabad, 58 in Baroda, and 53 in Surat. The schools included different structural types, served students from a variety of educational and economic levels, and were widely dispersed within each city. GHI found that the earthquake risk of the schools in all three cities is significant, and recommends that the authorities responsible for these schools take steps to reduce the risk. GHI further recommends that these authorities initiate comprehensive school earthquake risk mitigation programs. GHI and SEEDS will meet with officials in these three cities to discuss these findings and follow-up actions. After this meeting, this report will be revised.