Bhutan

Thimphu Valley Earthquake Risk Management Project

Background
Bhutan, with a population estimated at 800,000, is vulnerable to a range of natural hazards which seriously threaten the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.  The country lies in one of the most seismically active zones of the world.

Despite the high risk and occurrence of earthquakes in the region, there are limited ‘official’ historical records tracking earthquakes and consolidating the relevant seismic risk data. The earliest available records of earthquake events show that a major earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale hit Bhutan in 1897 causing catastrophic damage to several parts of the country. Recently, earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale in 2003 have been recorded but no damage to the affected areas
A detailed seismic micro-zonation of Bhutan, which could reveal the multiplicity of risks facing different parts of the country, is not available. However, since the region is in the same plate as north-eastern India, which is the ‘most active’ Seismic Zone V, it is accepted that Bhutan falles under either in Seismic Zone IV or V.  Hence the possibility of a major earthquake is high.

The Thimphu Valley houses the capital city of Thimphu which is the political and development headquarters of the country. Owing to these features it has attracted various socio-economic establishments and an increasing concentration of urban and rural population leading to rapid and not always planned housing and infrastructural development. The Thimphu valley accounts for more than 6% (approximately 50,000 people in Thimphu city, Bhutan’s Five Year Development Plan, 2002) of the total population of Bhutan. It houses largely three categories of important buildings which include:

1. Public Buildings like schools, hospitals and dzongs;
2. Residential Buildings like individual houses, multi-storeyed apartments; and
3. Commercial Buildings like shopping complexes and offices.

Although buildings in Bhutan have adopted seismic designs (for Zone V) since 1997, based on the Indian Standards, there is limited technical capacity in Bhutan to structurally analyse the seismic safety of old and new buildings. 

With one of the highest density of population and the highest levels of development in the country, the Thimphu Valley is the nerve centre of Bhutan. This feature makes it a hotspot as both a high-risk earthquake site and as the lead disaster response site (concentration of capacities) for any earthquake in its vicinity.

Acknowledging this risk scenario, in Spring 2004, the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) instructed the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement (MoWHS) to assess existing buildings in Thimphu valley for structural safety in the event of a severe earthquake. It was proposed that following the structural assessment of buildings in Thimphu, a similar exercise should be carried out in Phuntsholing and other major towns in Bhutan. The Standards & Quality Control Authority (SQCA) has been assigned to spearhead the studies needed to assess the structural safety of buildings in Bhutan. Due to lack of in-country capacity (technical skills and equipments) for seismic assessments, the support of international/external actors to conduct seismic vulnerability assessment of critical buildings and to build local capacity for future assessments is expressed.

Objectives
The project will attempt to answer two critical questions for earthquake risk reduction in Thimphu Valley: 
2.2.1 What if an earthquake strikes Thimphu Valley?
Formulate earthquake disaster scenario (through vulnerability study) of Thimphu Valley and Action Plan (with short medium and long term recommendations). 

2.2.2 How to prepare critical infrastructure for earthquake risk reduction?:
Understand seismic risk reduction needs of critical buildings in Thimphu Valley. Offer user-friendly and doable guidance for reducing seismic risks of these buildings and other prominent building types in Thimphu.

Achievements & expected results

The development of the earthquake scenario using the RADIUS methodology was carried out successfully.
1. The vulnerability assessment of 15 residential type buildings in the Thimphu Valley, was out sourced to John Sanday Associates Pvt. Ltd. (JSA), an international consultancy firm based in Katmandu, Nepal. The Final Report was presented to the various stakeholders by JSA on 13th & 14th December 2005.
2. The Rapid Visual Assessment of various buildings has been carried out using the Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) method from the information collected for the RADIUS methodology.
3. The national engineers have been trained in the use of the RADIUS software and the RVS method. Four national engineers visited the office of JSA in Kathmandu, Nepal, to familiarise themselves with seismic assessment of buildings. Two engineers were sent for a training programme on A seismic Design and construction at International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology, Skopje, Macedonia.
4. Awareness materials have been prepared and distributed.
5. Two workshops were conducted to disseminate information on TVERMP in particular and earthquakes in general.
6. Action plan for Thimphu Valley drawn up