Assessment of Damaged Buildings Following the Protests
In Kathmandu, on October 9, it was reported that one-third of the buildings under the federal government that were set on fire during the Gen Z protests on September 8-9 have been completely damaged. The Department of Urban Development and Building Construction conducted rapid assessments of 440 buildings across 287 federal offices nationwide. Of these, 134 buildings were found to be fully destroyed, while 176 suffered partial damage. Additionally, 130 buildings experienced minor damage. To indicate the level of destruction, assessment teams affixed red, yellow, and green stickers to the affected structures.
“Buildings with green stickers can be used after minor repairs immediately,” said Nisha KC, a senior divisional engineer at the department. “Those fully destroyed or partially damaged need detailed study to determine if they can be reused after repair and retrofitting or if they require demolition.”
Twenty different teams comprising officials from the department were mobilized to conduct post-arson assessments of the infrastructure under the federal government to determine their habitability. Similarly, the Nepal Engineers Association carried out rapid assessments of 170 buildings under the provinces, including provincial assemblies, ministries, and other offices. Offices under 80 local units were also assessed by the association.
“We assessed all the destroyed and damaged structures under the provinces. However, we could not cover all the structures of the local units as several of them are conducted on their own,” said Subash Chandra Baral, president of the association. “Around 25 percent of the structures we have assessed have been completely damaged.”
KC mentioned that they have already started the detailed structural assessment in partnership with the Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Engineering and other organizations. The detailed assessment of the partially damaged structures will be carried out in the first phase. “We plan to carry out detailed assessments of all the structures in two months. The repairs and retrofittings will be completed by the end of the current fiscal year,” said KC. There are nine months for the current fiscal year, while the current Sushila Karki government has five months to hold the elections and handover the authorities to the elected representatives.
Several buildings, including the Prime Minister’s Office, federal parliament building, the Ministry of Health and Population, and Kathmandu District Court, among others, have received red stickers. Experts explain that red stickers do not necessarily mean the building needs to be pulled down immediately but indicate that the building is currently uninhabitable.
The intensity of the destruction depends on the heat and the duration the particular structure was under fire, they say. Unlike during an earthquake, when an entire building is affected, fire damage might not be equally intense throughout. The areas where the fire was severe are damaged, but other parts could still be usable.
Fire with a temperature ranging from 100°C to 200°C begins to reduce the moisture present in cement and concrete, according to experts. This moisture plays a role in holding the bricks, cement, and rods together. However, as the heat gradually evaporates moisture, the internal bonds of the structures start to weaken, which in turn reduces the building’s load-bearing capacity and strength.
Temperatures between 300°C and 400°C can even alter the chemical composition of the cement used in buildings. Under a temperature exceeding that, the structure can suffer so much damage that it becomes completely unusable.
The Gen Z protest that began on September 8 turned violent after 19 youths—17 outside the federal parliament at New Baneshwar, and two in Itahari—were killed in police firing. The next day, protesters not only torched the houses of then-prime minister KP Sharma Oli and other leaders but also seized control of properties under the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive and set them on fire. Some of the key buildings, including the Supreme Court, were burning for days. The arson was not confined to Kathmandu but spread across the nation, leading to losses worth hundreds of billions rupees.
