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Nepal Earthquake Desk Program

Nepal is located in one of the most seismically active areas in the world. Based on government and GeoHazards International (GHI) data, a vast number of school buildings are highly vulnerable to heavy damage or collapse during earthquake shaking. No child should have to risk their lives to get an education.

GHI is supporting Nepal in improving school safety, through longer-term solutions like constructing safer, new schools and strengthening existing vulnerable buildings. However, at the current rate of schools being replaced or strengthened, it will take close to 200 years to make all school buildings safe. In the meantime, there are many children who remain at high risk from their school buildings collapsing or experiencing heavy damage during earthquakes.

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Description of the key safety design elements of the Earthquake Desk, designed by Arthur Brutter and Ido Bruno.

To protect the lives of schoolchildren, GHI is leading an innovative initiative to develop, manufacture, and place Earthquake Desks into Nepal’s seismically vulnerable schools, particularly those of stone masonry construction. The Earthquake Desks provide a practical, life-protecting, interim solution for students during earthquakes, until these buildings themselves can be made safer. The specially designed Desks offer a safety area where students can take shelter when shaking starts, providing protection from falling heavy debris.


There are two sizes of Earthquake Desks that are designed for Nepal, one for smaller, younger students and another for high school students. We tested locally-manufactured prototypes of both Desk sizes to determine how they would perform in real classrooms. Compression tests in a laboratory were conducted to better understand the Desks’ ultimate capacity. A shock table test demonstrated how the Desks perform when subjected to a collapsing building of heavy stone masonry and slate roofing. We are particularly interested in stone masonry construction, as this building type is prevalent in lower-resourced, remote areas of Nepal and is especially vulnerable to collapse in earthquake shaking. All tests were conducted in laboratory facilities at Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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The shock table test of the Nepal Earthquake Desks. Top left shows the full-scale structure (two stone masonry walls and a slate roof) built onto a table that is then struck by a large pendulum (blue frame on the left), causing the structure to collapse (top right). The bottom left picture shows two sizes of Earthquake Desks standing amid the rubble and roof timber beams, after the slate roofing was removed. The bottom right picture shows four blue water jugs that were placed under an Earthquake Desk to suggest where children would be taking cover during an earthquake. All Earthquake Desks retained the open ‘safety zone’ underneath and sustained only cosmetic damage.

Through stakeholder workshops in Dhangadhi (far western Nepal) and Kathmandu (capital city in central Nepal), our team shared the concepts and sought feedback and partnerships for long-term adoption of Earthquake Desks in Nepal. The workshops included live demonstrations with a mass of rocks weighing 700 kg (over 1,500 lbs) dropped onto an Earthquake Desk from 3 m above (a typical one-story building height) to show its impact capacity. The drop demonstrations were live in front of key stakeholders and schoolchildren, and showed that the Earthquake Desks can maintain a safety zone despite the heavy impact. These events were well received by local and national stakeholders, generating strong interest and enthusiasm for advancing this initiative.


As of 2025, three local manufacturers have been carefully trained on the highly precise process of making the Earthquake Desks. GHI and multiple partners are working toward the production of larger volumes of Earthquake Desks while reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and maintaining careful standards for quality. All project partners are keen to get this highly practical “safety gear” into as many vulnerable schools as possible.


Our ultimate aim with this ongoing, multiphase initiative is to equip local leaders, schools, and manufacturers with the ability to independently procure and mass-produce Earthquake Desks that meet safety standards.


GeoHazards International wishes to acknowledge and sincerely thank all those who are helping make this aim a reality.


Project Partners:

  • Ido Bruno and Arthur Brutter (Earthquake Desk designers)

  • National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (Technical support and local implementation coordination)

  • Tribhuvan University, Institute of Engineering (Engineering insight and testing laboratory)

  • Marc Veletzos (Testing engineer)

  • ARUP (Modeling and virtual simulations)

  • Engineering Advisory Group (Structural engineering advice): Jitendra Bothara, Prachand Man Pradhan, Jhapper Singh Vishokarma, Anastasios Sextos

  • Godawari Municipality, Kailali (Local government alignment)


Project Funding & In-Kind Services:

  • Verisk corporation

  • Anonymous private foundation

  • Vanguard Charitable

  • ARUP (in-kind services)


Links:


Video of the Shock Table Tests and Compression Tests 

Video of the Drop Demonstrations in Kathmandu and far western Nepal 

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