US embassy cable - 03AMMAN6522

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006522 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/PTHANOS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV, EAID, JO 
SUBJECT:  WHEN JORDAN RUMBLES, THINGS MIGHT CRUMBLE 
 
1. (U)  Summary.  Although Jordan's history is littered 
with seismic activity, Jordanian officials and builders 
believe that present building codes are insufficient to 
protect residential buildings and public structures from 
an earthquake, with potentially major humanitarian 
consequences.  While the Ministry of Public Works and 
Housing is reassessing building codes to minimize damage 
from an earthquake, they requested further assistance to 
modernize Jordan's current codes and to obtain seismic 
data to assess the seismic hazard of particular areas. 
End Summary. 
 
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Earthquake Zone 
--------------- 
 
2. (U)  Jordan is home to the Dead Sea Rift system and 
its associated branching faults, a fault system similar 
to the San Andreas fault system in California.  The Dead 
Sea Rift is the border between the Arabian and African 
plates and is associated with some of the highest 
concentration of earthquakes in the region.   In the last 
twenty years, major earthquake swarms took place in 
Jordan in 1983, 1993 and 1995 with other smaller seismic 
activity at scattered times.  Aqaba, Jordan's only port, 
lies directly on the Dead Sea fault, and branching faults 
extend throughout the region including areas surrounding 
Amman and Jerash.  Records of seismic activity show a 
high concentration of earthquakes in the Aqaba area and 
smaller earthquakes throughout Jordan.  Currently, 
research is being undertaken by the Natural Resource 
Authority, under a USAID-funded MERC project, to survey 
the fault system in Aqaba to assess the seismic hazard to 
the city. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Codes Insufficient, Inadequately Enforced 
----------------------------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) The National Building Council (NBC) determines 
the building codes for Jordan and comprises officials of 
the Ministries of Public Works and Housing, 
Transportation, Energy, Environment, and Municipalities 
in addition to the Mayor of Amman, the Chairman of the 
Jordan Engineers Association and the Chairman of the 
Jordanian Contractors Association.  Jordanian residential 
building codes are based on British codes --  which do 
not account for earthquakes, as England is not in a 
seismically active area. 
 
4.  (SBU)  In addition to inappropriate codes for the 
local earthquake risk, ministry and association officials 
told us that enforcement mechanisms are inadequate. 
Current procedures require builders to go through a 
series of checks in order to construct a residential 
property in Jordan.  First, building designers must 
complete a brief survey of the land and complete a 
building plan.  Next the plans must be taken to the 
Engineers Association to ensure that the designs meet 
building codes.  (Note: The Head of the Technical 
Department of the Contractors Association Omar Mohi-Al- 
Din Al-Masr told us that the Engineers Association only 
conducts a superficial assessment of the designs, and 
mainly uses this service as an income generator for their 
organization.)  Finally, designs are taken to the 
appropriate municipality to determine if the buildings 
satisfy zoning requirements - such as lot sizes and 
building heights.  There is no requirement for 
supervision of contractors' adherence to the approved 
building plans, and consequently many contractors are 
known to cut corners during construction to lower costs. 
 
5.  (SBU)  Given the inadequate codes and enforcement, 
quality of construction and adherence to code varies by 
neighborhood and income level.  The Director of Codes and 
Standards, Dr. Jamal Qtaishat, believes that most of the 
residential buildings in relatively prosperous west Amman 
would survive a moderate earthquake, while many of the 
multistory cinderblock buildings in poorer east Amman and 
outside the city would not.  Engineers from Amman 
Municipality, the Contractors Association, and the 
Engineers Association echoed this sentiment.  For 
example, questioned about the likelihood of buildings in 
Amman surviving an earthquake, the Contractors 
Association's al-Masr told Econoff, "Thank God we are a 
religious people, because it will be a disaster." 
 
6.  (SBU)  In contrast to residential construction, many 
government buildings, such as ministries and hospitals, 
and large construction projects face a stricter set of 
building codes and practices that better protect them 
from earthquake damage.  Until recently, Jordan did not 
have building codes for public structures other than 
buildings, such as dams, roads or bridges.  The Italian- 
financed $55 million Karameh Dam was already completed 
when it was discovered it was built on a major fault 
line.   Ironically, Qtaishat claimed that some Arab 
countries with similar geological hazards have adopted 
the inadequate Jordanian building codes. 
 
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Change is on the Way 
-------------------- 
 
7. (U)  On April 1, 2003 a new law entered into effect 
that gave the NBC the authority to prescribe building 
codes for all structures and incorporated text from model 
International Building standards specifically for 
earthquake risk.  The new law designated the Jordanian 
Engineers Association as the authority to audit and 
review blueprints for all structures with a total surface 
area of more than 150 square meters. The law also assigns 
to municipalities responsibility for completing spot 
checks on construction to ensure that contractors are 
abiding by approved blueprints and technical standards. 
The new law assigns legal liability to municipalities and 
the Engineers Association if structural damage occurs. 
Although the law has entered into effect, Qtaishat does 
not expect the law to be fully implemented and enforced 
for at least a few months. 
 
-------------------------- 
But Outside Help is Needed 
-------------------------- 
 
8.  (U)  Qtaishat expressed his desire to further improve 
building codes in Jordan.  He stressed that receiving 
general guidance from civil engineers with expertise in 
seismically active areas would be helpful, particularly 
since NBC is already rethinking its approach to building 
codes.  Furthermore, he stated that engineers in Jordan 
also needed training in how to design earthquake 
resistant buildings.  Qtaishat also asked for help in 
obtaining seismic data that would allow for a better 
evaluation of earthquake risk.  He repeatedly noted 
USAID-funded work in Turkey as an example of how the USG 
could potentially help Jordan. 
GNEHM