Marcy - I have no expertise in Haitian archeology or architecture, and do not wish to waste your time.  It seems to me that local preservation architects and students of vernacular architecture might be particularly knowledgeable about traditional earthquake resilient building practices and preparedness. I lurk on the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) Forum discussion list because of my interest in preservation architecture (forum-l) and see no discussion on the Haitian Earthquake! 

The NTHP as you may know has a page on disaster relief but no earthquake related projects or guidance are posted: 
 http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/technical-assistance/disaster-recovery/

Likewise I just checked the US-ICOMOS Website forum where I can find no discussion of earthquake architecture design:
 http://www.usicomos.org/forum

However there appears to be particular expertise at the ICOMOS Website: http://www.international.icomos.org/home.htm
where there is a message from ICOMOS President Gustavo Aaroz who just happens to be an expert on the Haitian World Heritage Site Citadelle Laferrière.

I did discover a group called Open Architecture which has started "pre-design" on a Haitian Reconstruction Project.  The project is posted at: http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/haiti_reconstruction
If there were specific traditional architectural design considerations applied in Haiti I would think they would be interested, if not already knowledgeable.

Also members of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists might have knowledge of traditional building practices that have been resilient to earthquakes worldwide.
http://www.aegweb.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1

Without getting too clinical, I would be surprised to learn that  vernacular rural building practices would be based on planning for earthquake resilience in Haiti or anywhere else, but will be pleased to hear what you find out, or others know about the matter, and gladly be wrong.  I am delighted to find out that my taxes are going for government employees who are committed to doing the job of government to use knowledge to plan for and protect its citizens.  Please let us know what you find out. Thank you for your service. - Mark

Mark Henderson
Chupadero Archeological Resources, LLC
El Prado, New Mexico

---------- Original Message ----------

Dear all,

 

I'm writing to ask for your assistance in locating information about earthquake knowledge and traditional preparedness in Haiti specifically and the Caribbean in general. 

 

Bit of background: I'm currently on a fellowship with the EPA National Homeland Security Research Center in Washington, DC and so am part of the disaster preparedness and response community (note: by training, I'm a landscape archaeologist with background in both Palaeolithic and historical-period colonization and related development of environmental information; my role as a Fellow is to build their social science program with emphasis on risk communication and public perception of environmental hazards). Discussion here is now growing about how to not just rebuild Haiti, but encourage and enable redevelopment of earthquake-resilient structures and communities. 

 

I'm curious to know if there is any history of research and literature on written or oral history about earthquakes in Haiti and/or traditional practices that may have assisted with survival or accommodation of previous (even if lower magnitude) earthquakes in the past. While recent development in the Port-au-Prince area clearly was not designed with earthquakes in mind and links to previous practices may be broken, identification and recognition of previous earthquake heritage may make the sustainable reconstruction efforts more effective.

 

I currently have very little background in Caribbean archaeology and ethnography and time is short, so will be grateful for any suggestions. Please feel free to reply off-list.

 

with many thanks,

Marcy Rockman

 

 

________________________
Marcy Rockman, Ph.D., RPA
AAAS Fellow 
EPA National Homeland Security Research Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20460