Disasters: how civil engineers can help, and not just afterwards

Article originally published in December 2018

Disasters – natural and artificial – involve widespread loss, seriously disrupt society and often require international assistance to recover.

Natural disasters are becoming more frequent worldwide due to the impacts of climate change and the increasing vulnerability of an urbanising and growing population.

The 7.7 and 7.4 magnitude earthquakes that struck Myanmar and the Philippines last year are a couple among several examples from the past few years.

There are four distinct phases of disaster management:

1. mitigation
2. preparedness
3. response
4. recovery

Civil and infrastructure engineers have a key role to play in each.

Traditionally, the profession’s greatest contribution has been linked to the recovery phase, such as carrying out repair and reconstruction work of damaged buildings and infrastructure. Often, on a volunteer basis.

However, engineers can also make significant contributions to the other phases as well.

Mitigation and preparedness

In their day-to-day work, civil engineers play a vital role in infrastructure resilience.

This ranges from designing and building flood defences to reducing the vulnerability of structures at risk, from key infrastructure (such as roads and water supply networks) to housing.

For instance, civil engineers can adopt technologies such as base isolation (flexible pads between the building and their foundations) to protect structures from the extreme ground motions that earthquakes produce.

They can also use supplemental damping devices, which disperse energy from earthquakes throughout the height of structures.

Fuse components are another option, where damage is concentrated to a specific area during an earthquake that can be easily replaced to restore building functionality quickly.

Building resilience in communities

Engineers can help communities become more resilient.

For example, volunteering for charities and non-government organisations provides a way for the profession to apply its knowledge and experience to deliver much-needed training to communities at risk.

For example, civil engineers from the charity Saraid delivered search-and-rescue training for the Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service in Moldova.

The initiative was sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Firefighters Charitable Trust organised with Fire Aid, an association of UK charities.

Response

Following a damaging event such as an earthquake, urban search-and-rescue (USAR) engineers need to assess collapsed buildings to determine if they are safe to enter.

Then, they must come up with the safest way to breach the structure to reach anyone who’s trapped within the structure.

Civil engineers can also contribute to emergency response efforts by carrying out post-earthquake safety evaluations. They can classify buildings according to the risk that the damage may pose to occupants and surrounding areas.

An example is the rapid post-earthquake response carried out in Turkey following the February 2023 earthquake – ICE members were part of the emergency response teams.

Recovery

The transition into the recovery phase is facilitated by more detailed engineering damage assessments.

Civil engineers have a central part to play in all parts of the reconstruction, where the emphasis must be to build back safer.

When carrying out such activities, it’s important to communicate the objective of keeping people safe implicit in modern building codes.

And, where appropriate, adopt a resilience-based design approach that goes beyond minimum code requirements.

Applying engineering expertise

In December 2025, an embankment breach on the Llangollen Canal in Shropshire, England caused a section of the 45-mile waterway to drain.

This left several narrowboats stranded almost five metres below ground level in the basin. Some of these boats serve as people's homes.

Two key challenges of the disaster response were the limited access to the site and operating safely on unstable ground without increasing the risk of further embankment failure.

To address this, the team used a specialist ′spider‵ excavator to carry out recovery works - a machine designed to work in difficult locations and extreme terrain with less ground pressure and more stability. It also meant extensive temporary works weren't needed.

This recovery operation used the spider excavator to access the canal breach and create a stable ramp for winching operations (lifting heavy objects) while carefully removing silt from around the partly submerged vessels.

ICE Fellows Damian McGettrick and Matthew McCombe from WM Plant Hire worked on the recovery operations.

Damian explains: "The spider excavator’s ability to adjust its legs and attachments allow it to work safely on uneven ground while reducing pressure on the embankment, making it uniquely suited to this delicate operation."

Matthew added: "[This] demonstrates how specialist equipment combined with professional judgement can be applied safely and effectively in complex emergency situations."

Civil engineers can save lives

Bringing civil engineers’ core technical and managerial competencies to bear on all phases of the disaster cycle will improve community resilience around the world.

It will contribute to more stable socio-economic systems within which to operate and improve the lives of many.

Learn more in the Civil Engineering Journal