Virtual Earthquake Reconnaissance Team (VERT) Summary by Tracy Becker and Laura Whitehurst.
Schools constructed with earthbag technology have been reported to have good performance in the Nepal earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. The construction techniques are well detailed here: http://earthbagbuilding.com/projects/nepalschool.htm
Bags filled with excavated soil are layered on top of a stone and cement foundation. A concrete ring beam is cast at the top and anchored into the earthbag wall (Figure 2).
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| Figure 1. School constructed with earthbag technology. |
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| Figure 2. Construction of school in the village of Phuleli, located in the Solukhumbu District of Nepal (source: http://earthbagbuilding.com/projects/nepalschool.htm) | Figure 3. First Steps Himalaya’s earthbag school. |
A cooperative from New Zealand has also been constructing earthbag schools and reports good performance in the quake. They have plans to build at least 35 more classrooms. (Source)
Curated topics from the April 25, 2015, Nepal Earthquake to help inform reconnaissance activities, identify impacted regions, and help document the timeline of earthquake response/recovery.
Information on school buildings, especially those retrofitted or involved in mitigation programs pre-quake, from the April 25, 2015, Nepal Earthquake.
