Disaster response is close to the heart and origin of EMI. The ministry was conceived of in a post-disaster situation--the structural redesign of a hospital on Saipan after a hurricane in 1981. Out of this project sprang the vision to mobilize design professionals to help the less fortunate. A brief review of EMI's disaster response work:
1995 Kobe, Japan – Structural engineers assess damaged churches after an earthquake.
1999 Honduras – Eight civil engineers assess and design remediation for several slopes and water systems damaged by Hurricane Mitch.
1999 Ocotal, Nicaragua – Three civil engineers, in conjunction with World Relief, design a drip irrigation system for farmers who lost everything in Hurricane Mitch.
2000 Turkey – Two structural engineers assess earthquake-damaged buildings for World Relief.
2005 India – Engineers and architects travel to coastal southern India to design prototype village for tsunami victims.
2005 Indonesia – Six engineers visit Meulobah, Indonesia to assess flooding problems in the wake of the tsunami, partnering with Food for the Hungry.
2005 Guatemala – EMI staff design and mobilize funding for permanent houses for victims of Hurricane Stan.
2005 Pakistan/N. India – EMI engineers and architects travel to N. India to assist with relief and reconstruction efforts. EMI home office mobilizes funding to build temporary shelters for earthquake victims.
We encourage all potential disaster response volunteers to first volunteer on one of EMI's short term project trips (see current project needs). This is so we can get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses before attempting to work together and rely on each other in potentially high-stress environments.
