EEFIT

The Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) is a joint venture between industry and universities, conducting field investigations following major earthquakes.

 

Founded in 1982, EEFIT has since then led 50+ post-disaster reconnaissance studies following major earthquakes or return missions to check the trajectory and efficacy of recovery.

EEFIT objectives
  • Following earthquakes and tsunamis, carry out detailed technical evaluations of the performance of structures, foundations, civil engineering works and industrial plants within affected regions

  • Collect geological and seismographic data, including strong motion records

  • Assess the effectiveness of earthquake protection methods, including repair and retrofit, and compare actual performance with designer expectations

  • Study disaster management procedures and the socio-economic effects of earthquakes

  • Study the effectiveness of response and relief operations, as well as short- to long-term recovery through return missions

EEFIT also undertakes the following important activities which benefit the wider seisimc engineering and disaster response sectors:

  • Organise training courses focussed on different aspects of post-disaster reconnaissance work

  • Train the next generation engineers and disaster risk management professionals through mission work

  • Stay embedded within the international post-disaster reconnaissance communities

  • Capacity sharing with strategic disaster management stakeholders and partners worldwide

  • Influence disaster resilience policy through reports, consultations, and research output

  • Use the groundwork and field data as a testbed for developing, piloting, validating and verifying for advanced technology such as remote sensing products

EEFIT mission table (scroll horizontally to view the full table contents)

Name Location Date Mag (Mw) Country Hazard Type Method Report Link
Liège Earthquake Liège, Belgium 08/11/1983 5 Belgium Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-liege-belgium/
Algarrobo Earthquake Llolleo, Chile 03/03/1985 7.4 Chile Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-algarrobo,-chile/
Mexico City Earthquake Mexico City, Mexico 19/09/1985 8 Mexico Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-mexico-city,-mexico/
San Salvador Earthquake San Salvador, El Salvador 01/10/1986 5.5 El Salvador Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-san-salvador,-el-salvador/
Loma Prieta Earthquake Loma Prieta, California 17/10/1989 7.1 USA Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-california,-usa/
Newcastle Earthquake Newcastle, Australia 27/12/1989 5.4 Australia Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-newcastle-australia/
Vrancea Earthquake Vrancea, Romania 30/05/1990 7.8 Romania Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-vrancea,-romania/
Luzon Earthquake Luzon, Philippines 16/07/1990 7.8 Philippines Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-luzon,-philippines/
Manjil Earthquake Manjil, Iran 21/06/1990 7.4 Iran Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-manjil,-iran/
Augusta, Sicily Earthquake Augusta, Sicily, Italy 13/12/1990 5.1 Italy Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-augusta,-sicily/
Erzincan Earthquake Erzincan, Türkiye 13/03/1992 6.8 Türkiye Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-erzincan,-turkey/
Northridge Earthquake Northridge, California, USA 17/01/1994 6.7 USA Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-northridge,-california/
Kobe Earthquake Kobe, Japan 17/01/1995 6.9 Japan Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-kobe,-japan/
Umbria–Marche Earthquake Umbria–Marche, Italy 26/09/1997 5.9 Italy Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-umbria-and-marche,-italy/
El Quindío Earthquake El Quindío, Colombia 25/01/1999 6.2 Colombia Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-quindio,-colombia/
Kocaeli Earthquake Kocaeli, Türkiye 17/08/1999 7.6 Türkiye Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-kocaeli,-turkey/
Chi-Chi Earthquake Chi-Chi, Taiwan 21/09/1999 7.7 Taiwan Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/IStructE/media/Public/Resources/report-eefit-jiji-taiwan-20190814.pdf
Bhuj Earthquake Bhuj, India 26/01/2001 7.7 India Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-bhuj,-india/
Indian Ocean Tsunami (Immediacy) Sri Lanka / Thailand 26/12/2004 9.3 Sri Lanka/Thailand Earthquake & Tsunami Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-india-ocean-tsunami/
Kashmir Earthquake Kashmir, Pakistan 08/10/2005 7.6 Pakistan Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-kashmir-pakistan/
Folkestone Earthquake Folkestone, UK 28/04/2007 4 UK Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-observation-short-report-folkestone-uk/
Central Peru Earthquake Central Coast, Peru 15/08/2007 7.9 Peru Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-central-peru/
Lincolnshire Earthquake Market Rasen, UK 27/02/2008 4.7 UK Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-short-report-lincolnshire-uk/
Wenchuan Earthquake Wenchuan, China 12/05/2008 7.9 China Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-wenchaun-china/
L'Aquila Earthquake (Immediacy) L'Aquila, Italy 06/04/2009 6.3 Italy Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-l-aquila-italy/
South Pacific Earthquake Samoa 29/09/2009 8 Samoa Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-the-south-pacific-islands-ear/
Sumatra Earthquake Sumatra, Indonesia 30/09/2009 7.6 Indonesia Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-sumatra-indonesia/
Haiti Earthquake Port-au-Prince, Haiti 12/01/2010 7 Haiti Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-port-au-prince-haiti/
Maule Earthquake & Tsunami Maule, Chile 27/02/2010 8.8 Chile Earthquake & Tsunami Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-chile-report/
Christchurch Earthquake Christchurch, New Zealand 22/02/2011 6.3 New Zealand Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-christchurch-earthquake/
Tōhoku Earthquake & Tsunami (Immediacy) Tōhoku, Japan 11/03/2011 9 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-tohoku-earthquake/
Gorkha Earthquake (Immediacy) Gorkha, Nepal 25/04/2015 7.8 Nepal Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-gorkha-nepal/
Kumamoto Earthquake Kumamoto, Japan 14/04/2016 7.1 Japan Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-kumamoto-japan-earthquakes/
Muisne Earthquake Muisne, Ecuador 16/04/2016 7.8 Ecuador Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-muisne-ecuador-earthquake/
Amatrice Earthquake Amatrice, Italy 24/08/2016 6.2 Italy Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-amatrice-italy-2016/
Central Sulawesi Earthquake (Immediacy) Sulawesi, Indonesia 28/09/2018 7.5 Indonesia Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-central-indonesia-earthquake/
Albania Earthquake Tirana, Albania 26/11/2019 6.4 Albania Earthquake Immediacy Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-albania-26-november-2019/
Zagreb Earthquake Zagreb, Croatia 22/03/2020 5.3 Croatia Earthquake Immediacy Remote https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/remote-study-zagreb-earthquake-22-march-2020/
Aegean Sea Earthquake & Tsunami Aegean, Türkiye/Greece 30/10/2020 6.9 Türkiye/Greece Earthquake & Tsunami Immediacy Hybrid https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-aegean-30-october-2020/
Haiti Earthquake 2021 Haiti 14/08/2021 7.2 Haiti Earthquake Immediacy Hybrid Report under development
Türkiye–Syria Earthquake Sequence Southeastern Türkiye 06/02/2023 7.8 Türkiye Earthquake Immediacy Hybrid https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-report-turkey-february-2023/
Morocco Earthquake Morocco 08/09/2023 6.8 Morocco Earthquake Immediacy Hybrid https://www.istructe.org/resources/training/eefit-mission-september-2023-morocco-earthquake/
Myanmar & Thailand Earthquake Mandalay, Myanmar 28/03/2025 7.7 Myanmar Earthquake Immediacy Remote https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/j-pvrr-myanmar-earthquake-28-march-2025/
Eastern Afghanistan Earthquake Kunar, Afghanistan 31/08/2025 6 Afghanistan Earthquake Immediacy Remote https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-august-2025-afghanistan-earthquake-report/
Indian Ocean Tsunami (Return 2022) Indonesia / Thailand 2022 9.3 Indonesia/Thailand Earthquake & Tsunami Return Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-indonesia-thailand-2022-recovery-missions/
L'Aquila Earthquake (Return 2012) L'Aquila, Italy 2012 6.3 Italy Earthquake Return Field https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10518-014-9588-y
Tōhoku Earthquake & Tsunami (Return 2013) Tōhoku, Japan 2013 9 Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Return Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-mission-recovery-great-east-japan-earthquake/
Gorkha Earthquake (Return 2022) Gorkha, Nepal 2022 7.8 Nepal Earthquake Return Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/case-study/eefit-return-mission-to-nepal/
Central Sulawesi (Return 2022) Sulawesi, Indonesia 2022 7.5 Indonesia Earthquake Return Field https://www.istructe.org/resources/report/eefit-indonesia-thailand-2022-recovery-missions/


Additional imagery and data can be found on the Learning from Earthquakes website.

Management Committee

EEFIT is managed by a Committee elected by its membership. The current Managment Committee composition is given below:

Chair Mike Whitworth IStructE representative Sebastian Kaminski
Vice-Chair Viviana Novelli SECED representative Valentina Putrino
Immediate Past-Chair Yasemin D. Aktas Young member representative Sarah Esper
Elected members Mariana Asinari

Jacob Black

Fabio Freddi

Matthew Free

Roberto Gentile

Valentina Putrino

 
Co-opted members Keith Adams

Alejandra Albuerne

Ji-Eun Byun

Katherine Coates

Giorgia Giardina

Roberto Gentile

Vipul Kumar

Sean Wilkinson

Enes Veliu


We rely on volunteer engineers and academics, the financial support of our individual and corporate members, and secretariat support from IStructE.



Report
EEFIT Research Grant Report Updated 2026

Get involved

Membership of EEFIT means making a fundamental difference in understanding the impact of earthquakes and recovery.

As an EEFIT member, if you are seleced for a mission you will have the opportunity to survey the aftermath of earthquake events and learn from experienced engineers.

You'll also share your findings with industry, the research community, policy makers and reconstruction stakeholders.

Types of membership

Corporate member - recommend a member of staff to join a mission team who will be given some priority over other candidates.

Pricing structure:
 

Small organisations (<100 employees):  £250 
- One nominee for full membership
Medium organisations (100-499 employees): £375
- Two nominees for full membership
Large organisations (>500 employees): £500
- Three nominees for full membership











Current Corporate members:

  • AECOM

  • AKT II

  • Ariel Re

  • Arup

  • Atkins Global

  • Global Earthquake Model Foundation

  • Guy Carpenter

  • Mott MacDonald

  • Sellafield Ltd

  • University of Zagreb

Full member - be considered for joining a mission team - £30 annual subscription (£20 for IStructE or SECED members)

Student member - free

If you have questions, please contact EEFIT.


Contact EEFIT


 

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