Damage Assessment of 400,000 Structures in Haiti

The Haiti Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (MTPTC) conducted an earthquake damage assessment program on an unprecedented 400,000 buildings after the January 12, 2010 earthquake. Miyamoto International set up a technical platform and trained 600 Haitian engineers under extreme post-disaster conditions. We also managed 15 divisions of Haitian engineers to collectively provide building assessments. This was the world’s first post-disaster assessment program to use a personal digital assistant (PDA) database management system to provide real-time information to key disaster response and recovery organizations.

The main objectives of the project were to: 1. Provide rapid safety assessments of damaged structures. 2. Develop a strategic reconstruction plan. 3. Build the local leadership and skills needed to respond to this disaster and rebuild the country. The information generated by this program allowed people to move from temporary shelters into adequate housing before the hurricane season began. The work included using the Applied Technology Council’s detailed earthquake damage and safety evaluation procedures and adapting them to Haitian construction to identify any existing damage for the facilities being assessed.