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Environment
An Engineer Reports from the Danger Zone: Letter from Sri
Lanka
(enr.construction.com - 2/01/05)
By John
Headland
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| ASCE's
Headland, left, and Yin at site where wave claimed 1,500
lives. (Photo courtesy of ASCE) |
Editor's note: Late in January, the
American Society of Civil Engineers
sent three teams to the tsunami disaster zone to conduct damage
assessments. This is their first report from the field. More
will follow.
My name is John Headland. I am a board
member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Coasts,
Ocean, Port and River Institute (COPRI.) I am also a consulting
engineer, practicing in port and coastal engineering for the
firm Moffatt
& Nichol. I started with the firm in 1980 and presently
serve as a principal. The COPRI board, with encouragement
from ASCE management, decided that it should commission a
group of technical experts to participate in post-tsunami
assessment trips to examine the damage in several countries.
Unlike our partners in this effort — the Technical Council
on Lifeline and Earthquake Engineering (TCLEE) — which
commonly assesses post-earthquake damage, COPRI members have
not, heretofore, participated in such emprises. My role was
to initiate the formation of teams who would visit three countries:
Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. Our mission is to learn what
we can from the devastating effects of the tsunami to provide
information to engineers, scientists and planners who must
make informed decisions about the means for minimizing future
damage and loss of life. Our assessments will focus on the
coastal areas and port facilities that were inundated by the
water. Our limited work is not a substitute for the work of
local experts in each country who will plan and execute reconstruction,
develop corrective actions, and consider planning and zoning
issues. Still, we must learn what we can for the benefit of
the tsunami-prone areas in the United States and around in
the world.
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The area affected by the tsunami is
too vast for a single team to visit. Accordingly, COPRI decided
to send two members to each of the three countries, following
the lead of the TCLEE groups. Although we wanted to visit
Indonesia, where so many have perished, the trip was not possible
due to numerous exigencies that have been reported in the
news.
Our teams are listed below and are comprised
of civil engineers with specializations in port and/or coastal
engineering (the team leader for each group is listed first.)
Thailand:
Dr. David Kriebel, P.E., Professor
of Ocean Engineering, United States Naval Academy
Dr. Robert (Tony) Dalrymple, P.E., Professor of Civil Engineering,
Johns Hopkins University
India:
Martin Eskijian, P.E., Senior Engineer,
California State Lands Commission
David Ames, P.E., Senior Engineer/Project Engineer, Han-Padron
and Associates
Sri Lanka:
John Headland, P.E., Principal,
Moffatt & Nichol
Peter Yin, P.E., Senior Structural Engineer, Port of Los Angeles
Day 1: January 31, 2005
I have never been to Sri Lanka before,
never ventured in the region between Oman and Bangkok. My
travel guide refers to Sri Lanka as the “teardrop of
India,” a tear of...
(continued...)
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