CHICAGO — The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) expresses its deep sorrow for the devastating losses suffered by the people of Haiti in the January 12th earthquake that struck Port-Au- Prince and the surrounding areas. It is our fervent hope that assistance of the United States and other countries around the world helps to alleviate the suffering to the greatest extent possible.

The Structural Engineering profession is committed to protecting the public safety; and a number of Structural Engineers are already participating in the rescue efforts in Haiti as members of search and rescue teams. The expertise of our members is vital to ensure the safe removal of debris and the design of temporary support shoring needed to extricate victims trapped in the rubble of collapsed structures.

NCSEA maintains a Structural Engineers Emergency Response (SEER) committee that consists of volunteer structural engineers across the country, trained in the structural engineering aspects of emergency response to earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural or man-made disasters. The SEER Committee is currently communicating with the government and private sector to identify ways in which the structural engineering community can lend its talents, skills and experience. At the present time, however, public and private sector personnel are reminded that they should not self-deploy to affected areas. The United States Department of State is coordinating foreign disaster assistance, and U.S. assets should deploy only if tasked to do so by the State Department. The most urgent need at the present time is supporting ongoing disaster relief fundraising efforts. When requests for technical support are received through the proper authorities, NCSEA will look to its Member Organizations to provide trained volunteers.

Visit www.ncsea.com for more information.