The 2010 Haiti Earthquake: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for Reducing Earthquake Risks around the World


Reginald DesRoches, PhD                                                                                                                                               Thursday, September 18, 2014
Karen and John Huff School Chair and Professor,                                                                                                                                  3:30pm – 4:30pm
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,                                                                                                                                         138 DeBartolo
Georgia Institute of Technology

The January 12, 2010 Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake resulted in one of the most devastating natural disasters in modern times. It is estimated that over 300,000 fatalities and 300,000 injuries resulted from the earthquake.  In addition, over one million people were homeless for months following the earthquake.  The rebuilding community was challenged not only by the scale of the devastation, but also by the very real possibility that Haiti may face another devastating earthquake within the next one or two decades.  Moreover, changing demographics, rapid urbanization, and ageing infrastructure may increase the number of earthquake disasters to occur in the future.  The presentation highlights the lessons learned from the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and discusses the opportunities for reducing earthquake risks in Haiti and around the world.

Reginald DesRoches is the Karen and John Huff Chair and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  His primary research interests are design of buildings and critical infrastructure under earthquake loads.  He has a particular interest in mitigating the impacts of earthquakes and other natural hazards in the Caribbean and Western Africa. Dr. DesRoches has served as a key technical leader in the US response to the Haiti earthquake, and has traveled to Haiti numerous times since the earthquake. He led a team of 28 engineers, architects, city planners, and social scientists to study the impact of the earthquake. Dr. DesRoches has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2002.  The PECASE award is the highest honor bestowed upon scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.  Most recently, he was a recipient of the 2007 ASCE Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, and the Georgia Tech ANAK Award (2008).  The ANAK award is considered the highest honor the undergraduate student body can bestow on a Georgia Tech faculty.  Additional honors include the Georgia Tech Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor Award (2010), and the Georgia Engineer of the Year in Education Award (2012).  Dr. DesRoches is also a three-time invitee to the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Program (2002, 2004, and 2009).  Dr. DesRoches earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Master’s of Science in Civil Engineering, and PhD in Structural Engineering – all at the University of California, Berkeley.