Immediately after a devastating earthquake, many engineers face an engineering challenge. They have to act swiftly to make a series of important engineering decisions in order to obtain the best solution for restoring the damaged port structures. The restoration should be made in a limited time span using the available resources and should cause minimum disturbance to the remaining operational functions of a port. The objective of this paper is to give an overview on a recommended procedure based on the experiences gained from the recent earthquakes, notably the 1995 Great Hanshin (Kobe) earthquake, Japan. The recommended procedure consists of four phases: (1) The first phase is the preliminary investigation of damage, and should be performed within 24 hours after the earthquake. This is to capture an overview of damage to port facilities and mainly conducted by eye and engineering judgement. (2) The second is the emergency action phase, and performed within 48 hours after the earthquake. This phase is to decide whether or not emergency measures should be implemented to avoid secondary disaster. If the secondary disaster is deemed possible, then emergency actions should be implemented. This phase also includes the decisions on whether or not partially damaged facilities should be utilized for emergency use. (3) The third phase is the emergency restoration phase, and performed within 7 days after the earthquake. This phase is to perform supplementary investigation of damage necessary for implementing emergency restoration measures for partially damaged facilities. Once the emergency restoration measures have been completed, then the partially restored facilities will be used to meet the emergency objectives, including handling emergency cargos for earthquake affected areas. (4) The fourth phase is the tentative restoration phase, and performed within 30 days after the earthquake. This phase is to implement tentative restoration measures for damaged port structures deemed feasible in the third phase. Permanent restoration for the rest of the facilities will be performed after the fourth phase, 30 days after the earthquake. The paper addresses the appropriate engineering criteria for decision making in each phase of restoration. Case histories will also be given in the paper.
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