ABSTRACT
Johan Vyncke and Hans Geenens, Belgian Building Research Institute Dr Susanne Buchner, Gifford & Partners Ltd, England
3.1 Introductio n
After a large scal e disaster, as i n an earthquake, many relie f activitie s such a s savin g o f lives, medical care, prevention of the sprea d of fire, transportation o f habitants an d relie f personnel , foo d and wate r supply , and distribution of clothes, ar e developed . Fo r this , the rehabilitatio n of the infrastructur e o f the area is very important , an d shoul d occur a s fas t as possible ; blocke d roads should be opened , emergency bridge s installed, bridges repaired , etc . Anothe r main concern afte r suc h a damaging disaste r is housing. Man y houses are likel y t o be damaged or have collapsed, leavin g homeless people searchin g fo r shelters . Uncontrolled reuse of dwellings can augment the numbe r o f victims, du e to building collapse cause d by aftershocks o r live-loads , an d can obstruc t certain relie f activities . To avoid the uncontrolled reuse of buildings it is very importan t to examine th e buildings as soo n an d a s fas t a s possibl e and t o prohibit the entr y to hazardous dwellings. Thus, whethe r i t concerns buildings or infrastructure , a quick damage assessment after a disaster is important in order t o achieve an effective relie f campaig n an d to make a fast rehabilitatio n of economic an d socia l lif e possible . This , however, need s an effective damag e assessment plan in the post-disaster period, a s a n importan t part o f the whol e disaster emergency plan.
