SDC’s earthquake-resistant construction project in Peru

In October 2008, Swiss Re entered into partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The decision for cooperation was prompted by the devastating earthquake which struck parts of Peru in 2007 and destroyed homes, hospitals, schools, churches, government buildings and the general infrastructure. The official death toll stands at 514, with 1 090 injured and more than 100 000 buildings left destroyed.

Disaster prevention as part of Swiss Re's corporate citizenship programme

Based on its risk management expertise, Swiss Re endeavours to support the development of practical solutions to humanitarian challenges. Teaching catastrophe victims about disaster prevention and providing them with risk education is a key target of Swiss Re's humanitarian initiatives.

Besides cover for damage after a disaster has occurred, proactive risk mitigation strategies are of increasing importance. Through proactive measures and educational initiatives, the potential devastation caused by a certain disaster can be significantly reduced.

With the intent of making a tangible contribution to this goal, Swiss Re has entered into long-term partnerships with leading organisations in the field. The partnership with SDC aims to prevent humanitarian disasters as a consequence of earthquakes.

SDC activities in Peru

A major obstacle of the reconstruction process is the lack of knowledge that architects, construction workers and technical staff in the communities have when it comes to earthquake-resistant construction of adobe buildings. The lack of technical advice with regard to construction leads to the population beginning to reconstruct buildings without respecting the minimum technical standards. They then run the risk that the same errors will be made, which allowed the consequences of the earthquake to be so severe in the first place.

The overall goal of the project is to make the population less vulnerable to earthquakes and limit the number of new risks brought about by the reconstruction process after the earthquake in August 2007.

The project aim is to build up the local capacities for earthquake resistant construction using adobe and to use these during reconstruction of the earthquake hit region. The project focuses on earthquake-hit rural areas in the regions of Ica, Huancavelica and Lima.

Project benefits

The proposed project Construction of earthquake-resistant houses in rural areas of Ica should:

Raise the awareness of and build up the necessary capacities for earthquake-resistant construction in rural areas
Help communities to identify safe sites for construction
Help affected families to construct their homes
Provide better coordination with authorities
Fund the reconstruction of homes for a certain number of poor families, who are excluded from the governmental reconstruction efforts
Support governmental institutions and NGOs share knowledge of earthquake-resistant construction within the scope of reconstruction but also in other regions
Give trained construction workers and architects the opportunity to earn a stable income enabling them to improve their living conditions in the medium term

As a result, it is hoped that the population will be less vulnerable to earthquakes in the longer term. In the context of the National Programme for Rural Housing, it is anticipated that the lessons learnt will be implemented nationally.