TED Senior Fellows at TEDGlobal 2010
Peter Haas: When bad engineering makes a natural disaster even worse
Peter Haas: Dezas jeni Ayiti
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"Ayiti pa te yon dezas natirèl," TED Fellow Peter Haas di: "Se te yon dezas jeni." Pandan peyi a ap rekonstwi apre tranbleman de tè an Janvye a, eske ansyen move pratik de konstwiksyon ap kreye yon lòt pwoblèm inatandi. Gwoup a Haas la, AIDG, ap ede mason an Ayiti yo aprann konstwiksyon modèn ak praktik jeni, pou rasanble brik pa brik yon peyi fò
Peter Haas - Building activist
Inveterate tinkerer Peter Haas is the co-founder of AIDG, the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which connect people to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach. Full bio
Inveterate tinkerer Peter Haas is the co-founder of AIDG, the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which connect people to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
I learned about the Haiti earthquake by Skype.
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Mwen aprann de tranbleman de tè an Ayiti a sou Skype
00:19
My wife sent me a message,
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Madanm mwen te voye yon mesaj pou mwen.
00:22
"Whoa, earthquake,"
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“Woy, tranbleman tè"
00:24
and then disappeared for 25 minutes.
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epi’l disparèt pou 25 minit
00:28
It was 25 minutes of absolute terror
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Se te 25 minit nan panik absoli
00:31
that thousands of people across the U.S. felt.
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ke milyè de moun nan Etazini te santi
00:36
I was afraid of a tsunami;
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M te pè de tsounami.
00:39
what I didn't realize
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S'am pa te reyalize
00:41
was there was a greater terror in Haiti,
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se te gen yon pi gran panik an Ayiti
00:44
and that was building collapse.
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epi kay yo t’ap kraze
00:47
We've all seen the photos
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Nou tout wè foto
00:49
of the collapsed buildings in Haiti.
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kay kraze yo an Ayiti.
00:52
These are shots my wife took
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Sa yo se foto madanm mwen pran
00:54
a couple days after the quake,
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de twa jou apre tranbleman de tè a
00:56
while I was making my way through the D.R. into the country.
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lè'm t’ap pase pa D.R. pou’m antre nan peyi a.
01:00
This is the national palace --
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Sa se Palè Nasyonal la,
01:02
the equivalent of the White House.
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Ekivalan de palè blanch Ameriken an
01:05
This is the largest supermarket in the Caribbean
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Sa se pi gwo mache nan Karayib la
01:08
at peak shopping time.
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gen anpil moun k’ap achte.
01:13
This is a nurses' college --
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Sa se yon kolèj pou enfimyè.
01:15
there are 300 nurses studying.
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Gen 300 enfimyè k’ap etidye.
01:19
The general hospital right next door
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general la ki bò kote’l la
01:21
emerged largely unscathed.
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general la ki bò kote’l la.
01:24
This is the Ministry of Economics and Finance.
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Sa se Ministè Ekonomi ak Finans la.
01:30
We have all heard
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Nou tout tande
01:32
about the tremendous human loss
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anpil moun ki mouri
01:35
in the earthquake in Haiti,
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nan tranbleman tè an Ayiti a,
01:37
but we haven't heard enough
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men nou pa tande anpil
01:40
about why all those lives were lost.
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de poukisa la vi moun sa yo te pèdi.
01:43
We haven't heard about
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Nou pa tande de
01:45
why the buildings failed.
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poukisa kay yo kraze.
01:48
After all, it was the buildings,
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Apre tout bagay, se te kay yo,
01:50
not the earthquake,
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se pa te tranbleman tè a
01:52
that killed 220,000 people,
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ki tiye 220,000 moun
01:55
that injured 330,000,
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blese 330,000,
01:58
that displaced 1.3 million people,
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deplase 1.3 milyon moun
02:04
that cut off food
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ki koupe manje
02:06
and water and supplies
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ak dlo ak provizyon
02:08
for an entire nation.
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pou tout on peyi
02:11
This is the largest metropolitan-area disaster
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Sa se pi gran dezas nan zòn metwopoliten
02:16
in decades,
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nan deseni.
02:19
and it was not a natural disaster --
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Epi li pa te yon dezas natirèl.
02:22
it was a disaster of engineering.
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Se te yon dezas de jeni.
02:25
AIDG has worked in Haiti
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AIDG ap travay an Ayiti
02:27
since 2007,
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depi 2007,
02:29
providing engineering and business support
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bay sipò biznis ak jeni
02:31
to small businesses.
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pou ti biznis yo.
02:33
And after the quake, we started bringing in earthquake engineers
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Apre tranbleman tè ta, nou kòmanse vini ak enjenyè ki spesyalize nan tranbleman tè
02:37
to figure out why the buildings collapsed,
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pou yo ka chèche konnen ki sa ki fè kay yo tonbe,
02:39
to examine what was safe and what wasn't.
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pou yo ekzamine ki sa ki san danje, ki sa ki gen danje.
02:42
Working with MINUSTAH,
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Pandan n’ap travay ak MINUSTAH,
02:45
which is the U.N. mission in Haiti,
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ki se mission ONU in Ayiti,
02:47
with the Ministry of Public Works,
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ansanm ak Ministè Travay Piblik,
02:49
with different NGOs,
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avèk diferan NGO,
02:51
we inspected over 1,500 buildings.
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nou enspèkte 1500 kay.
02:55
We inspected schools
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Nou inspèkte lekòl
02:57
and private residencies.
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ansanm ak kay prive.
02:59
We inspected medical centers
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Nou inspèkte sant medical
03:01
and food warehouses.
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ak depo manje.
03:03
We inspected government buildings.
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Nou enspèkte ofis gouvènman yo.
03:05
This is the Ministry of Justice.
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Sa se Ministè Jistis.
03:07
Behind that door
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Dèyè pòt sa
03:09
is the National Judicial Archives.
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se Achiv Jistis Nasyonal la.
03:12
The fellow in the door, Andre Filitrault --
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Kanmarad ki nan pòt la, Andre Filitrault,
03:14
who's the director
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se direktè
03:16
of the Center for Interdisciplinary Earthquake Engineering Research
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Sant pou Rechèch Entèdisiplinè de Tranbleman de Tè
03:20
at the University of Buffalo --
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nan Univèsite de Buffalo
03:23
was examining it to see if it was safe
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t’ap ekzamine’l pou’l wè si p’at gen danje
03:25
to recover the archives.
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pou ka sove achiv la.
03:27
Andre told me,
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Andre di’m,
03:29
after seeing these buildings fail
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apre’l wè kay sa yo tonbe
03:31
again and again in the same way,
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menm jan chak fwa
03:34
that there is no new research here.
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pa gen nouvo rechèch.
03:37
There is nothing here that we don't know.
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Pa gen anyen la nou pa konnen.
03:40
The failure points were the same:
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Pwen echèk la toujou menm kote –
03:43
walls and slabs not tied properly into columns --
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mi ak beton yo pa mare byen nan kolòn yo--
03:46
that's a roof slab hanging off the building --
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sa se yon twati siman ki pandye sou bò kay la –
03:51
cantilevered structures,
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eskriti kite sipòte yon sèl kote,
03:53
or structures that were asymmetric,
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eskriti ki pa te simetrik,
03:55
that shook violently and came down,
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ki souke trè vyolan epi ki tonbe,
03:59
poor building materials,
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move materyèl konstriksyon,
04:01
not enough concrete,
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pa ase siman,
04:03
not enough compression in the blocks,
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pa ase konpresyon nan blòk yo,
04:07
rebar that was smooth,
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fè reyanfòsman ki te two lis,
04:09
rebar that was exposed to the weather and had rusted away.
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fè reyanfòsman ki te ekspoze nan move tan epi ki rouye.
04:12
Now there's a solution
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Konnye a gen yon solisyon
04:15
to all these problems.
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pou tout pwoblèm say o.
04:17
And we know how to build properly.
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Epi nou konnen kòman pou nou bati byen.
04:20
The proof of this came in Chile,
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Prèv sa soti Chili,
04:23
almost a month later,
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prèske yon mwa apre,
04:26
when 8.8 magnitude earthquake
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lè tranbleman de tè de 8.8 mayitid a
04:30
hit Chile.
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frape Chili.
04:32
That is 500 times
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Sa se 500 fwa
04:34
the power of the 7.0
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pi pisan ke 7.0
04:36
that hit Port-au-Prince --
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ki frape Port-au-Prince
04:39
500 times the power,
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500 fwa pi pisan,
04:41
yet only under a thousand casualties.
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epi sèl mwens ke mil mouri.
04:46
Adjusted for population density,
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Ajiste pou popilasyon dansite,
04:48
that is less than one percent
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sa se mwens ke yon pousan
04:50
of the impact of the Haitian quake.
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enpak tranbleman tè Ayiti a.
04:54
What was the difference
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Se ki diferans
04:56
between Chile and Haiti?
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antre Chili ak Ayiti?
04:59
Seismic standards
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Estanda sismik
05:01
and confined masonry,
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ak masonnen fèmen,
05:04
where the building acts as a whole --
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kote kay yo aji ansanm –
05:06
walls and columns
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mi ak kolòn,
05:08
and roofs and slabs
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avèk twati ak beton
05:10
tied together to support each other --
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mare ansanm pou yo ka sipòte yo chak,
05:13
instead of breaking off into separate members and failing.
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autan ke yo kraze an moso manb epi tonbe.
05:18
If you look at this building in Chile,
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Si’w gade kay san an Chili,
05:21
it's ripped in half,
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li rache an mwatwe,
05:23
but it's not a pile of rubble.
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men li pa yon pil blòk kraze.
05:27
Chileans have been building with confined masonry
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Moun Chili yo t’ap bati ak masonnen fèmen
05:29
for decades.
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pou deseni.
05:32
Right now, AIDG is working with KPFF Consulting Engineers,
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Konnye a, AIDG ap travay ak KPFF Consulting Engineers,
05:36
Architecture for Humanity,
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Architecture for Humanity,
05:38
to bring more confined masonry training
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pou pote plis entrenman masonnen fèmen
05:41
into Haiti.
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an Ayiti.
05:45
This is Xantus Daniel;
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Sa se Xantus Daniel.
05:47
he's a mason,
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Li se yon mason,
05:49
just a general construction worker, not a foreman,
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jusk yon travayè konstriksyon jeneral, li pa yon kontremèt,
05:52
who took one of our trainings.
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ki pran yonn nan entrenman nou yo.
05:54
On his last job he was working with his boss,
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Nan travay pase li ya, li t’ap travay ansanm avèk boss li,
05:57
and they started pouring the columns wrong.
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epi yo t’ap kòmanse vide siman nan kolòn nan mal.
06:00
He took his boss aside,
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Li pran boss li akote pou'l pale avèk li,
06:02
and he showed him the materials on confined masonry.
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epi li montre’l materyel masonnen fèmen yo.
06:05
He showed him, "You know, we don't have to do this wrong.
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Li montre’l, “Ou konnen, nou pa bezwen fè sa mal.
06:08
It won't cost us any more
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Li p’ap koute nou pi chè
06:10
to do it the right way."
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pou nou fèl byen.”
06:13
And they redid that building.
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Epi yo refè kay la.
06:15
They tied the rebar right,
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Yo mare fè poto yo byen.
06:17
they poured the columns right,
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Yo vide siman nan kolòn nan byen.
06:19
and that building will be safe.
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Epi kay sa ap vinn san danje.
06:21
And every building
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Epi tout lòt kay
06:23
that they build going forward
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yo bati aprè sa
06:25
will be safe.
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ap vinn san danje.
06:28
To make sure these buildings are safe,
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Pou asire ke kay sa yo san danje,
06:30
it's not going to take policy --
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li pa’p pran lwa,
06:33
it's going to take reaching out
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l’ap pran chèche pale
06:35
to the masons on the ground
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ak mason yo ki a tè a,
06:38
and helping them learn the proper techniques.
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epi ede yo aprann bon teknik.
06:43
Now there are many groups doing this.
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Konnye a gen anpil group k’ap fè sa.
06:45
And the fellow in the vest there,
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Kanmarad ki gen vès sou li a,
06:47
Craig Toten,
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Craig Toten,
06:49
he has pushed forward
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t’ap pouse devan
06:51
to get documentation out to all the groups that are doing this.
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mete dokiman deyò pou tout moun k’ap fè sa.
06:55
Through Haiti Rewired,
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Atravè Haiti Rewired,
06:57
through Build Change, Architecture for Humanity,
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atravè Build Change, Architecture for Humanity,
07:00
AIDG,
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AIDG,
07:02
there is the possibility
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gen yen posibilite
07:04
to reach out
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pou chèch pale
07:07
to 30,000 -- 40,000 masons
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ak 30000, 40000 mason
07:10
across the country
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atravè peyi a
07:12
and create a movement of proper building.
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epi kreye yon movman pou bati byen.
07:17
If you reach out to the people on the ground
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Si’w lonje men’w ba moun yo ki sou tè a
07:19
in this collaborative way
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nan mwayen kolaboratif sa
07:21
it's extremely affordable.
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li ekstrèmman abòdab.
07:24
For the billions spent on reconstruction,
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Pou tout milya k’ap depanse nan rekonstwiksyon an,
07:28
you can train masons
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ou ka antrene mason
07:30
for dollars on every house
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pou dola sou chak kay
07:32
that they end up building over their lifetime.
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yo vinn bati pandan y’ap viv.
07:37
Ultimately, there are two ways
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Finalman, gen 2 mwayen
07:39
that you can rebuild Haiti;
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ke ou ka rekonstwi Ayiti,
07:41
the way at the top
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mwayen ki kòmanse anwo a
07:43
is the way that Haiti's been building for decades.
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se mwayen sa Ayiti te konstwi pou deseni.
07:46
The way at the top
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Mwayen sa a
07:48
is a poorly constructed building
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se yon kay ki konstwi mal
07:50
that will fail.
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ki pral kraze.
07:52
The way at the bottom is a confined masonry building,
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Mwayen anba a se yon kay ki konstwi ak masonnen fèmen,
07:55
where the walls are tied together,
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kote mi yo mare ansanm,
07:57
the building is symmetric,
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kay la an simetri,
07:59
and it will stand up to an earthquake.
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epi ka kanpe devan yon tranbleman tè.
08:02
For all the disaster,
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Pou tout dezas,
08:04
there is an opportunity here
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gen yon opòtinite la
08:07
to build better houses
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pou konstwi bi bon kay
08:09
for the next generation,
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pou lòt jenerasyon an,
08:11
so that when the next earthquake hits,
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pou lè yon lòt tranbleman tè pase,
08:14
it is a disaster --
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li t’ap yon dezas
08:16
but not a tragedy.
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otan ke yon trajedi.
08:19
(Applause)
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(Aplodisman)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Haas - Building activistInveterate tinkerer Peter Haas is the co-founder of AIDG, the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which connect people to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach.
Why you should listen
In 2005, Peter Haas co-founded AIDG -- the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group -- an organization helping individuals and communities get affordable and environmentally sound access to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach. (Also on the board: TED Best-of-the-Web star Cat Laine.) Since co-founding AIDG, Haas has become an active voice for poverty issues, speaking at the World Bank, Harvard, MIT and other forums on technology, entrepreneurship and SME finance. He was named a TEDGlobal Fellow in 2009 and is now part of the three-year TED Senior Fellows program.
Before founding AIDG, Haas worked both in the information technology field and on an organic farm and horse ranch doing infrastructure improvement work. He tinkers in water systems, electrical systems, electronic systems, masonry, plumbing, biogas, irrigation, welding, metal casting and sustainable building.
Peter Haas | Speaker | TED.com