ULAANBAATAR, March 16, 2017 – Representatives from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ministry of Construction and Urban Development, Ulaanbaatar city municipality, the World Bank, and civil society organizations gathered together at a consultation workshop on seismic resilience of public schools in Ulaanbaatar today.
Participants discussed the preliminary findings of the seismic vulnerability assessment of Ulaanbaatar schools, a study jointly conducted by NEMA and the World Bank with support from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. They also discussed further actions that stakeholders can take to improve the resilience of Ulaanbaatar to earthquakes.
Among the proposed recommendations of the study were cost-effective interventions to improve resilience of Ulaanbaatar schools, such as retrofitting school buildings to resist larger earthquake forces. Such retrofitting interventions could be the anchor for a broader disaster risk reduction program, not only to prevent damage and collapse of buildings, but ultimately to save lives.
Participants also highlighted the need to start a similar program in other cities that are subject to earthquakes, as well as for other types of older buildings with high occupancy such as hospitals.
Ulaanbaatar occupies only 0.3 percent of Mongolia’s land area, but is home to 44 percent of the total population. The city generates 63.6 percent of national gross domestic product.
