Not that intervention by aid organizations always leads to safer building, it should be said. This was shown by a study in Nepal that Hendriks undertook. “After the major earthquake in 2015 the government there set up a grant program to fund the earthquake-resistant rebuilding of damaged homes. To be eligible, however, you had to follow the rules to the letter. In areas where no aid organizations were present, this was obediently done. While in other areas, where aid organizations had input, people had more insight into, say, the financial consequences and it was decided a little more often not to use certain costly techniques. As a result, the homes built were less safe. In those places, you saw people taking more ‘ownership’ of the building of their house.”

As a finer point, Hendriks adds that it is not clear that the people with the safest houses are better off. “Having to take out an expensive loan for the rebuild does, of course, saddle people with a financial problem. In addition, the government's design is not always in line with people's housing needs.”

Although the efforts of aid organizations and foreign expertise is certainly needed in disaster areas, the knowledge of local experts often adds value. After all, they know the conditions and circumstances, the local building techniques and materials, and the culture, says Hendriks. “You can't afford to neglect aspects like these. You can't simply introduce scientific knowledge and expect it to be accepted. Important knowledge is often already available locally. In the Philippines, for example, techniques for quickly building an emergency shelter against a typhoon are handed down from one generation to the next. And in the Himalayas cement is hard to come by so thick walls are often built and the stones are stacked in such a way that they fit snuggly together. The advantage of this is that you can reuse these stones after an earthquake.”

Barrier

These techniques known locally, however, do not make their way into the scientific literature. This is because it is difficult for experts outside the established - western - academic world to publish in the right journals, says Hendriks. “Especially if the English language forms an added barrier.” Together with a handful of colleagues, Hendriks was prompted by this to take the initiative for a special edition of the journal Disaster Prevention and Management, in which novice researchers receive coaching from established names in the field. “In this way we want to give local researchers a voice, for example by offering them the chance to submit a text in, say, Nepali or Filipino. The customary peer review takes place further down the line, but in the early stages we ensure they receive extra support.”

The PhD conferral ceremony of this passionate researcher was actually planned for April, as the closing event at a large conference with speakers from all over the world. “Reconstruction after natural disasters is an important theme and I think it is a pity that TU/e has no chair in this field,” stresses Hendriks, who after receiving her PhD will work full time as a lecturer and program coordinator at Avans. “And I'm always struck by the enthusiasm for this subject among my students, at both Avans and TU/e.” Owing to the corona pandemic, the final step in her doctoral journey will be a lot less exuberant. “Of course it's a real shame; we had counted on a having four hundred participants. Fortunately, a live stream of the thesis defense will be broadcast on September 23rd.”