Principles
The aim of the
present charta is to encourage and facilitate post-earthquake reconnaissance
(PER) missions within Europe. PER leads to a return of experience highly
valuable to senior earthquake engineers and allows an efficient training of
juniors. This is particularly important to engineers working in areas of
moderate or low seismicity, as it is the case for most European countries.
This charta
defines the minimum support that a signatory member association, henceforth
called "home association", will give to foreign PER teams once an
important earthquake has hit in its own country. All official PER teams of
member associations that have signed the charta can expect this support. Each
EAEE member association is free to sign the charta.
Support description
The classical problem after an earthquake is the following: Most
seismologists and earthquake engineers of the affected country
– can not be contacted since they immediately
leave their offices for the damaged area for aftershock surveys or PER
activities,
– are submerged by an avalanche of mails and
faxes requesting information (strong motion records, extend of damages, etc.)
and support for PER missions.
Therefore, it is suggested that the home association builds up a
"clearing centre", as close as suitable to the affected area, that
– collects relevant information about the
earthquake
– sends its address to all member associations
that have signed the charta, by mail and fax, and maintains someone on duty to
answer foreign requests
– facilitates the organisation of PER activities
– shields local authorities, scientists and
engineers from further uncoordinated requests
In order to facilitate PER activities, the clearing centre should:
– during the phase of preparation;
· help foreign colleagues in deciding
whether it is worth sending a PER team by providing preliminary scientific
information,
· inform about the daily life conditions in
the struck area (transportation, accommodation, food supply, etc.)
– once a PER team has arrived in the affected
area
· give an overview about the interesting
scientific aspects ("things that should be visited")
· support foreign PER teams in getting
access to the damaged areas and, as far as suitable, coordinate the activities
of different PER teams (e.g. visit of public services, buildings, industries,
etc.)
· provide, if possible, the PER teams
unable to understand the local language with an interpreter (e.g. a PhD student
or young research fellow; his/her expenses must be taken in charge by the
foreign PER team)
Preparing work
A list has to be
established and regularly updated by EAEE that contains the complete address
(phone, fax, e-mail) of
– the responsible for the organisation of PER
missions,
– the president,
– the national delegate,
of each member
association that has signed the charta. After an important earthquake, the home
association is expected to send the address of its clearing centre to all these
colleagues by e-mail or fax.
Each member
association prepares its own organisation of a clearing centre according to its
own possibilities.
Prepared by Martin Koller
Delegate of Switzerland