ESSEC Achievements

  • Conducting studies on the seismicity of the region in co-operation with the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ / GeoForschungs Zentrum (in German)).
  • Conducting studies on the seismic risk criteria and the seismic building code in co-operation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
  • Issuing engineering brochures on the architectural and constructional structure of earthquake-proof buildings in cooperation with the Engineering Association in Palestine.
  • Issuing public brochures to promote awareness with respect to public safety and seismic risks reduction measures.
  • Issuing the ground seismic acceleration map for the West Bank and Gaza.
  • Conducting studies and providing consultations for inhabitants, engineering offices, institutions, and Palestinian ministries in the following fields:
    • Designing buildings to withstand earthquakes.
    • Evaluating and seismically rehabilitating existing buildings.
    • Studying the role of a location's soil in the amplification of the seismic activity of the region.
    • Studying the locations of buildings and whether they are vulnerable to landslides.
    • Studying earth's subsurface layers of the sensitive locations and buildings (example: Siris and Marj Sanor (Sanor Meadow) dams project).
    • Assessing damages and identifying the scale of collapse in buildings according to the international standards.
    • Holding engineering courses in most of the Palestinian cities on "Designing buildings to withstand earthquakes and seismically rehabilitate existing ones" in cooperation with the Engineering Association in Palestine.
    • Holding courses on disaster management and emergency measures.
    • Conducting studies to determine the vulnerability of buildings to earthquakes in Palestine, as well as their expected seismic behaviour. (The studies have been carried out on approximately 2000 buildings in the following cities: Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarem, and Qalqilya).
    • Executing the restoration and reconstruction project of Khan Al-Wakala in the Old City of Nablus through the yard training school system in co-operation with the ESSEC, Nablus Municipality, the UNESCO and the European Union (EU).
    • Representing Palestine in Arab and international seminars and workshops on earth sciences and seismic engineering.
    • Establishing a national network for earthquake observation.