A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti’s southern peninsula in August 2021, causing extensive building failures that killed thousands.

The projects described below occurred before the March 28, 2025 M7.7 earthquake in Myanmar. These efforts highlight the importance of identifying and addressing risks before disasters occur in order to save lives and protect communities.

Two Kathmandu hospitals had been assessed for disaster preparedness just before the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha earthquake. Pre- and post-earthquake findings are compared.

Scenarios of a plausible earthquake quantify impacts, including more than 50% of schools damaged, and guide communities to reduce extreme risk before a disaster.

Technical review and field testing of a World Health Organization (WHO) tool to screen hospitals’ vulnerabilities to multiple hazards as well as their level of emergency and disaster preparedness.

Emergency planning and realistic disaster simulations for staff at hospitals in Bhutan, plus mitigations to keep the facilities functioning post disaster.

This program developed practice in Bhutan to identify the structural vulnerabilities of local buildings before an earthquake occurs, which can inform risk mitigation, and developed detailed guidance for life-safety evaluations of local buildings after an earthquake, which can help the country manage efficient recovery.

Prioritized short and long-term changes to improve post-disaster function of hospitals that provide critical medical services for a large number of people.

These consensus-based action plans, which include ways to prepare for and reduce risk in schools and health facilities, were adopted into national policy.

A manual and intensive training program for staff to back up utility systems, anchor objects, practice response, and prepare their hospitals to function through disasters.

Engineers gained on-the-job experience to design and install retrofit solutions for a large school, which cost less than to rebuild and became a model.

Created school programs and disseminated disaster awareness materials to over 50% of schoolchildren in cities with high seismic risk:Tashkent, Dushanbe and Almaty.