WHEN JORDAN RUMBLES, THINGS MIGHT CRUMBLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006522

SIPDIS

USDOC 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/PTHANOS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EAID JO
SUBJECT: WHEN JORDAN RUMBLES, THINGS MIGHT CRUMBLE


1. (U) Summary. Although Jordan's history is littered
with seismic activity, Jordanian officials and builders
believe that present building codes are insufficient to
protect residential buildings and public structures from
an earthquake, with potentially major humanitarian
consequences. While the Ministry of Public Works and
Housing is reassessing building codes to minimize damage
from an earthquake, they requested further assistance to
modernize Jordan's current codes and to obtain seismic
data to assess the seismic hazard of particular areas.
End Summary.

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Earthquake Zone
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2. (U) Jordan is home to the Dead Sea Rift system and
its associated branching faults, a fault system similar
to the San Andreas fault system in California. The Dead
Sea Rift is the border between the Arabian and African
plates and is associated with some of the highest
concentration of earthquakes in the region. In the last
twenty years, major earthquake swarms took place in
Jordan in 1983, 1993 and 1995 with other smaller seismic
activity at scattered times. Aqaba, Jordan's only port,
lies directly on the Dead Sea fault, and branching faults
extend throughout the region including areas surrounding
Amman and Jerash. Records of seismic activity show a
high concentration of earthquakes in the Aqaba area and
smaller earthquakes throughout Jordan. Currently,
research is being undertaken by the Natural Resource
Authority, under a USAID-funded MERC project, to survey
the fault system in Aqaba to assess the seismic hazard to
the city.

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Codes Insufficient, Inadequately Enforced
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3. (SBU) The National Building Council (NBC) determines
the building codes for Jordan and comprises officials of
the Ministries of Public Works and Housing,
Transportation, Energy, Environment, and Municipalities
in addition to the Mayor of Amman, the Chairman of the
Jordan Engineers Association and the Chairman of the
Jordanian Contractors Association. Jordanian residential
building codes are based on British codes -- which do
not account for earthquakes, as England is not in a
seismically active area.


4. (SBU) In addition to inappropriate codes for the
local earthquake risk, ministry and association officials
told us that enforcement mechanisms are inadequate.
Current procedures require builders to go through a
series of checks in order to construct a residential
property in Jordan. First, building designers must
complete a brief survey of the land and complete a
building plan. Next the plans must be taken to the
Engineers Association to ensure that the designs meet
building codes. (Note: The Head of the Technical
Department of the Contractors Association Omar Mohi-Al-
Din Al-Masr told us that the Engineers Association only
conducts a superficial assessment of the designs, and
mainly uses this service as an income generator for their
organization.) Finally, designs are taken to the
appropriate municipality to determine if the buildings
satisfy zoning requirements - such as lot sizes and
building heights. There is no requirement for
supervision of contractors' adherence to the approved
building plans, and consequently many contractors are
known to cut corners during construction to lower costs.


5. (SBU) Given the inadequate codes and enforcement,
quality of construction and adherence to code varies by
neighborhood and income level. The Director of Codes and
Standards, Dr. Jamal Qtaishat, believes that most of the
residential buildings in relatively prosperous west Amman
would survive a moderate earthquake, while many of the
multistory cinderblock buildings in poorer east Amman and
outside the city would not. Engineers from Amman
Municipality, the Contractors Association, and the
Engineers Association echoed this sentiment. For
example, questioned about the likelihood of buildings in
Amman surviving an earthquake, the Contractors
Association's al-Masr told Econoff, "Thank God we are a
religious people, because it will be a disaster."


6. (SBU) In contrast to residential construction, many
government buildings, such as ministries and hospitals,
and large construction projects face a stricter set of
building codes and practices that better protect them
from earthquake damage. Until recently, Jordan did not
have building codes for public structures other than
buildings, such as dams, roads or bridges. The Italian-
financed $55 million Karameh Dam was already completed
when it was discovered it was built on a major fault
line. Ironically, Qtaishat claimed that some Arab
countries with similar geological hazards have adopted
the inadequate Jordanian building codes.

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Change is on the Way
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7. (U) On April 1, 2003 a new law entered into effect
that gave the NBC the authority to prescribe building
codes for all structures and incorporated text from model
International Building standards specifically for
earthquake risk. The new law designated the Jordanian
Engineers Association as the authority to audit and
review blueprints for all structures with a total surface
area of more than 150 square meters. The law also assigns
to municipalities responsibility for completing spot
checks on construction to ensure that contractors are
abiding by approved blueprints and technical standards.
The new law assigns legal liability to municipalities and
the Engineers Association if structural damage occurs.
Although the law has entered into effect, Qtaishat does
not expect the law to be fully implemented and enforced
for at least a few months.

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But Outside Help is Needed
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8. (U) Qtaishat expressed his desire to further improve
building codes in Jordan. He stressed that receiving
general guidance from civil engineers with expertise in
seismically active areas would be helpful, particularly
since NBC is already rethinking its approach to building
codes. Furthermore, he stated that engineers in Jordan
also needed training in how to design earthquake
resistant buildings. Qtaishat also asked for help in
obtaining seismic data that would allow for a better
evaluation of earthquake risk. He repeatedly noted
USAID-funded work in Turkey as an example of how the USG
could potentially help Jordan.
GNEHM