1 Introduction
All Hands Volunteers, Project Nepal (AHV) is assisting the affected populations of the April 25, 2015 Nepal Earthquake and its significant aftershocks. Their program largely consists of three projects:
Safe demolition of structurally unsound buildings
Clearance of debris and salvage of reusable building materials
Construction of Temporary Learning Centers and temporary housing.
To assist with the safe demolition of structurally unsound buildings, AHV has teamed up with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) to develop this Program Manual to be used as a reference to guide program development and execution. The intent of this Manual is not to be the sole resource for demolition activities, but one of many, and it is always recommended that an engineer or demolition expert is consulted in more complex demolitions.
1.1 Background
The April 25, 2015, 7.8 Richter earthquake in Nepal followed by the multiple aftershocks including the 7.3 aftershock on May 12th was a major disaster. It left 489,000 houses totally destroyed and 267,000 damaged. There is also widespread critical damage and destruction to schools, community and government buildings. A large number of these structures that have failed are currently a safety hazard to the public and are in need of being fully demolished. Partially collapsed buildings are in need of being brought down and cleared in order for rebuilding to commence. It is essential during the clearing process that reusable building materials are salvaged so homeowners can have the maximum amount of materials needed to begin reconstruction.
The All Hands Volunteers teams, Nepal Engineers’ Association and other NGO’s have been conducting assessments for demolition in the Kathmandu and Sindhupalchowk districts. In Kathmandu, the AHV team noted that there are a high number of precariously positioned buildings which pose significant risk to the local population. A number of these buildings (5+ stories) are considered complex demolition and are currently not within AHV scope of capabilities; others are smaller and within scope of AHV’s capabilities. However, current commitments from the government to provide homeowners with cash grants for their destroyed homes are causing homeowners to be left in the position of refusing debris assistance until government officials inspect and confirm the damage.