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Four teams of structural engineers and surveyors have been deployed across Nepal to assess the damage at nine hospitals hit by the earthquakes of April and May.
The work is being carried out in conjunction with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and on behalf of the Nepali government, working with surveyors from the Nepali firm of consulting engineers John Sanday Associates.
The pro bono project will assess and design repair programmes and present the findings to the Nepali government.
The engineers and surveyors will give a detailed breakdown of the damage sustained and propose solutions for how the hospital buildings could be repaired, allowing Turner & Townsend to produce an outline report and costings for a programme of repairs.
The project’s findings will be presented jointly to the Nepali authorities and DFID, which is funding a programme of disaster resilience and capacity building in Nepal.
Before this year’s disaster, Turner & Townsend and Ramboll had been engaged in a DFID-funded programme to assess the earthquake resilience of 59 hospitals across Nepal, and devise a strengthening strategy for the most at risk. The programme also trained and employed 150 Nepali engineers, who were equipped with the latest surveying techniques. Now the British and Nepali teams have been reunited as they work to shore up the most badly damaged hospitals.
Leonie Grover, associate director at Turner & Townsend, said: “Two months after the first devastating earthquake hit Nepal, the TV cameras may have moved on, but the disaster relief work is far from over. And the hard work of rebuilding the country’s shattered infrastructure is just beginning.
“I’m returning to Nepal full of excitement, but under no illusions about the scale of the task that awaits me. Turner & Townsend’s previous work for DFID in Nepal was all about training Nepali engineers and surveyors and helping the country to prepare for the worst.
“Now the worst has happened, the importance of our work has been thrown into sharp relief. Working with colleagues from Ramboll, DFID, and Nepal, we have a crucial role to play in helping the Nepali government to repair and rebuild several essential hospitals.”
Dave Grove, director at Ramboll, added: “The teams found the level of damage varied between each building we inspected. We hope our work will help the Nepali authorities and DFID to prioritise which hospital buildings need repairing most urgently.
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