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    Safety Talk for the Hotel Industry in Thailand

    July 4, 2013 Thailand - The “Safety Talk for the Hotel Industry” was held at the Asia Hotel. Many hotel owners were in attendance to understand the risks to the community they service and their investment. The event was organized and sponsored by the Association of Natural Disaster Prevention Industry (ANDPI).

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    Exploring Myanmar Heritage

    We flew from Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar on Monday morning. Once there we were greeted by Twe Twe and Nang. They took us to lunch before visiting the Myanmar Engineering Society. We stopped at a local place, they let me sample the goat brains to see if I would like it as my main course. It seemed

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    L’Aquila Earthquake Journal Entry #1

    While most were sleeping, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The epicenter is located approximately 7 km northwest of L'Aquila, approximately 85 km northeast of Rome. L'Aquila is comprised primarily of Baroque and Renaissance era architecture and sits upon a hillside in a narrow valley.

  • The Hotel Montana: Once an iconic, four-star meeting place for Haitians, foreigners, spies and tourists, the locally owned hotel was utterly leveled by the Jan 12 earthquake. All that is left is broken concrete, twisted metal and the stench of decaying bodies.

    A Morning and Afternoon of Hopeful Rebuilding

    The Hotel Montana: Once an iconic, four-star meeting place for Haitians, foreigners, spies and tourists, the locally owned hotel was utterly leveled by the Jan 12 earthquake. All that is left is broken concrete, twisted metal and the stench of decaying bodies.

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    Thirty Months in Haiti – Part 3

    We selected 16 contractors and trained them in technology and business. We specified materials from local suppliers—Haitian-made. Contractors hired masons from the pool that we had trained.

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Thirty Months in Haiti – Part 1

November 29, 2012 - No Comments

I just finished giving a speech at the Kinam Hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The audience applauded enthusiastically. I felt good, elevated. I had spoken to

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The Citadel

November 8, 2012 - No Comments

The Citadel
August 14, 2012, Cap-Haïtien, Haiti
The shadow of a massive fortress appeared in the jungle at an elevation of 3,000 feet. It was

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Inside a Heavily Damaged Building in Haiti

November 8, 2012 - No Comments

Mark Broughton and I entered a large, three-story, red-tagged concrete apartment building. A red tag means “no entry.”

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Tohoku Earthquake – Part 3: Fragile Civilization

March 22, 2011 - No Comments

Fishermen from the village of Ofunato
Sendai, Japan (March 22, 2011) - Dr. Kit Miyamoto, the CEO of Miyamoto International, a global earthquake and structural engineering

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Tohoku Earthquake – Part 2: Fire and Water

March 18, 2011 - No Comments

Kesen-numa, a once-vibrant community, sits in devastation from the ravaging tsunami
Sendai, Japan (March 18, 2011) - Dr. Kit Miyamoto, the CEO of Miyamoto International,

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Tohoku Earthquake – Part 1: Anatomy of Failure

March 16, 2011 - No Comments

I pick up a fragment of a small shell from a sandy beach. This brings back memories from 30 years ago, when I camped here. It was a sunny and warm summer day then. Today, the beach of Arahama is cold. This community was hit by a massive 10-meter tsunami last Friday.

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