POST-EARTHQUAKE HANDLING OF BUILDINGS AND RECONSTRUCTION ISSUES EMERGING FROM THE 2001 BHUJ EARTHQUAKE

摘要

The January 2001 Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat state in India caused the largest earthquake disaster in the country in last 50 years. About 20,000 persons lost life and about 300,000 houses collapsed while another 700,000 houses damaged. Numerous multistorey buildings collapsed. Handling of the building stock immediately after the earthquake posed a serious challenge to an administration that was not prepared for earthquake emergencies. Reconstruction of this scale poses serious challenges. The paper discusses these issues alongwith the professional background of the building industry in the country in general and in Gujarat in particular. Also discussed are the long term actions towards better earthquake safety that have emerged as a result of this great human tragedy.