Building Earthquake Resistant Healthcare Systems

June 3, 2015 - The Possible Team


The Falling Down of Things, The Building Up of Things

To respond to the recent earthquakes, we are expanding our work in Nepal and rebuilding the healthcare system in one of the worst-hit districts.

We built our existing healthcare model in a region of Nepal that had been devastated by a civil war and lacked a single healthcare provider for over 250,000 people. Our seven years of experience building a healthcare system from the bottom up in that region is very similar to the challenges faced in the districts most directly impacted by the earthquakes.

We know what it takes to build a system from the bottom-up, where there is damaged infrastructure and a shortage of human capital.

We also know how to build with earthquake-resistant design. Our hospital expansion in rural Nepal is already being built with the resilience to resist any future natural disaster.

digging_week4 foundation_week5


How are our buildings earthquake-resistant?

 

  • We are using stabilized rammed earth walls, which are reinforced vertically and horizontally. The stabilizer will provide better mix with higher capacity, and the reinforcement will keep the wall in shape in the event another earthquake takes place.

 

  • We are using ring beams on the top and bottom of every wall. Having concrete beams at the seismic bandwidth, such as at the roof level and the base level, allows the building to resist the loading created during the earthquake.

 

See the rest on Medium

 

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