The existing buildings can be strengthened through retro-fitting to resist earthquake jolts, said Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, Vice Chancellor, NWFP University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Peshawar, here on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference, he said that new buildings could be engineered and designed in such a way that they could resist the quakes of high intensity.
The press conference was arranged to give understanding about Earthquake Rehabilitation Conference-2005 Theme-1: 'Seismology Structures & Codes' to be held here on November 18 and 19.
Gilani said the colossal efforts needed for rehabilitation and reconstruction were challenging and the conference would address issues including seismic hazards assessment.
This Conference, he said, would cover areas of seismic hazards assessment, seismic vulnerability of structure, building codes and disaster management.
It is noticeable that Higher Education Commission has provided funding for the conference and it is the first of a series of six thematic conferences that UET plans to hold.
He said that UET is in the final stages of setting up an Earthquake Engineering Centre which would impart training and conduct research on zoning, materials, designs techniques and code development.
Experts from USA, Italy, Macedonia and Turkey would share their experiences, while NWFP UET earthquake engineers would present technical assessment report of their survey on the affected regions.
The conference will come up with recommendations on construction of buildings and infrastructure, which are expected to help in developing the reconstruction strategy at national level.
The conference coincides with Donors' Conference scheduled for November 19.
It will further help to raise the confidence level of donors by noticing international experts, universities and academia involved in the reconstruction phase.
Researchers, professionals and building code regulators from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), which is the recognised national authoritative source for earthquake risk reduction in USA, will also attend the conference.
Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, HEC, stressed the need to develop a regulatory system after introducing the revised code of construction.
He said that programmes focusing on disaster management should be introduced to have better manpower to handle any critical situation.
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