Masonry building design for earthquake-affected remote areas of Nepal

Abstract

The 2015 Nepal earthquake sequence resulted in damage to or the destruction of more than 750,000 residential buildings in “most-affected” areas alone, of which 70% were low-strength masonry (LSM) buildings. In addition to residential buildings, thousands of schools and other institutional buildings were damaged or destroyed. Thirty-one of the country’s 75 districts were affected, with 14 districts declared most-affected areas. These most-affected areas were spread over more than 30,000 square kilometres of hills and mountains having rugged terrain, with a large portion containing scattered settlements that were inaccessible by land vehicular transport. The Government of Nepal has adopted the Build Back Better (BBB) reconstruction approach that requires all new buildings to be earthquake resilient. Meeting this provision generally requires the use of modern materials such as cement and steel, highly skilled construction techniques, and quality control. Stone and mud are commonly the only locally abundant reconstruction materials available. Hardwood is scarce in earthquake-affected areas, particularly at higher altitudes, and importing hardwood or treating local softwood is generally not an option. The situation is further worsened by limited availability of funds. These factors pose technical, logistical, and financial challenges for earthquake-resilient reconstruction. Consequently, innovative construction systems and techniques are required for optimal use of local materials and labour with minimal to no experience in using imported materials. Presented herein is first-hand experience with the development of such building techniques.