Earthquake experts of US academy arrive in Capital
By Adnan Rafique

ISLAMABAD—A delegation of top American scientific experts led by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has arrived in Pakistan on Monday to begin consultations with the Pakistani government and scientific community regarding earthquake reconstruction policy and planning.
The select team includes leading American structural engineers and urban planning specialists, representing decades of experience in seismic zones. During the visit, the delegation on Monday met with Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) Chairman Lt. General Zubair, as well as senior officials in the two entities charged by ERRA with the “construction” aspect of reconstruction Ministry of Housing Secretary Abdur Rauf Chaudhry and Pakistan Engineering Council Chairman Dr. Akram Sheikh.
Through these meetings the delegation will further their understanding of the status of Pakistani reconstruction policy, planning and implementation. The delegation also met with the Higher Education Commission, the conduit to the Pakistani scientific community.
The delegation will travel to the earthquake-affected region on Tuesday; witness firsthand the impact of the earthquake on local structures. The team’s goal is to assist the Pakistani government and scientific community to develop policies and strategic reconstruction plans to ensure that the massive loss of life attributable to inadequate construction methods, materials and codes does not recur. Team members will draw on recent earthquake reconstruction experiences in India and Iran as well as the best U.S. scientific and engineering resources. With relief operations continuing, this USAID-funded initiative recognizes the need to simultaneously focus on reconstruction planning and concerns.
Delegation members look forward to a fruitful exchange with Pakistan’s leading reconstruction experts. Their goal is the formulation of state of the art policies and implementation plans that incorporate local conditions and culture.
Delegation members include the team leader Melvyn Green, world-renowned expert on residential construction in seismic areas Mohauddin Ali Khan, structural engineer, seismic retrofit of buildings and bridges, and low cost housing, William T. Holmes, expert in seismic vulnerability of buildings and loss estimation, Marjorie Greene, an urban planner, with experience in research and policy development in earthquake recovery and rebuilding, (having worked or done research on rebuilding in Macedonia, Mexico City, the Loma Prieta and Northridge earthquakes in California; and the Maharashtra and Gujarat earthquakes in India and Michael Sanio, director of the International Office of the American Society of Civil Engineers.