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UNESCO 

MISSION TO THE EARTHQUAKE DAMAGE DISTRICT IN GUJARAT, INDIA, 

FOR THE CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL PROPERTIES, 

MARCH 1-15, 2001

AHMEDABAD ~ DAMAGE TO MODERN BUILDINGS

all photographs (except as marked) © by Randolph Langenbach / UNESCO, 2001

Click on photos to enlarge

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1-5) Mansi Complex, Ahmedabad after half of one of two buildings collapsed, with many casualties. 

The remaining half shows the "soft story ground floor level, and the damage to the ground floor columns which lead tot he collapse of the other half. 

The concrete in the columns was very weak. 

The buildings were only about 7 years old. 

Most of the collapsed buildings in Ahmedabad were less than 10 years old.

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7)     8)     9)

6-8)  Unnamed buildings in Ahmedabad, One half of the foreground structure in #6 collapsed. 

The other half survived because it had apartments, rather than parking, on the ground level. 

7-9) are of the structure in the background. 

This shows the near collapse of the right hand portion which had the open story. 

It was saved by the apartment in the ground level of the other end. 

The shear cracks in the walls of that apartment are shown in #9.

 10)    11)    12)    13)

10-13)  Shikhar Apartments. 

Half of this 2 year old 11 story building collapsed with many casualties. 

It is reported that a swimming pool had been constructed illegally on the roof of the collapsed portion.

14)

14) Chituan Apartments.  Another partially collapsed apartment house with a soft story.

15)

15) Chandra Deep and Hardik Pandit, CEPT students during survey of modern apartment building collapses.

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© Randolph Langenbach

M-Arch (Harvard), Dipl.Conservation (York, England)

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