ASCE Metropolitan Section - Engineers Urgently Needed for Earthquake Relief Effort in Haiti

Engineers Urgently Needed for Earthquake Relief Effort in Haiti

ASCE stands ready to contribute its technical expertise for relief efforts in Haiti. Structural engineers or civil engineers that can speak French or Creole are urgently needed to help at the site of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince. To volunteer to help in Haiti, you can enroll in the ASCE Disaster Assistance Volunteer Directory to match your skills with disaster relief efforts. So far, nearly 1,000 ASCE members have signed up to volunteer.

During initial relief efforts, volunteers must already have specialized disaster volunteer training and experience, and be deployed as part of coordinated, official relief efforts. Above all, don't travel to Haiti your own. To qualify for future relief efforts, you can take a disaster management course such as those offered by ASCE's Committee on Critical Infrastructure, FEMA, or a local Red Cross chapter.

MCEER (formerly the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research) at the University at Buffalo has been approached by the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) to provide support and help. AIDG has an immediate and dire need for French-speaking civil or structural engineers to perform inspections of key buildings left standing after the earthquake to determine their structural stability and to create reports detailing the results of the inspections and any recommended actions.

MCEER has offered its resources to coordinate a larger group of French-speaking civil/structural engineers to assist in the effort. If you are or know French-speaking civil or structural engineers who would like to volunteer for this task, please forward your resume/curriculum vitae to Traci Meagley at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

On January 22nd, the Society's Board of Directors approved a $10,000 donation to relief efforts through its longstanding partner, the American Red Cross. While ASCE coordinates with government and relief agencies to determine the best courses of action for restoring lifeline infrastructure, the Society encourages financial donations at this time as the most immediate means of help to relieve the suffering and loss. You can donate $10 immediately to the American Red Cross relief effort by texting "Haiti" to 90999 from your cell phone; the donation will appear on your cell phone bill. Or you can donate online via the American Red Cross website.

A team from ASCE's Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering, including experts from COPRI and EWRI, are making plans to head to Haiti in the coming weeks to assess the damage.