Field Guide: Rapid Post Disaster Building Usability Assessment – Geotechnical

The scope of these guidelines covers the rapid assessment of buildings to be carried out by geotechnical professionals during a State of Emergency declared under the Civil Defence Emergency Act 2002 or during a lesser event in special circumstances.

The focus of this document is from when the initial impact assessment is completed until the emergency declaration is lifted.

The focus of the rapid building assessment process is on immediate public safety, not the provision of an engineering assessment service to building owners. Quantified assessment of building damage is necessary to determine reconstruction programmes and resource requirements for repair, and to assess how long recovery may take. Such detailed assessment is outside the scope of this document.