March 25, 2011 – A team of Thornton Tomasetti engineers based in our Christchurch office have begun damage assessment and remediation design in New Zealand and teams of other engineers are standing by for deployment for similar service in Japan.

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake in New Zealand on Feb. 22 resulted in 182 deaths and damages estimated at NZ$14.8 billion, according to the country’s finance minister. In Japan, recent reports list fatalities at more than 10,000 and the number missing above 17,000 from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The earthquake was the fifth largest worldwide since at least 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazard Program.

Our engineering teams conduct damage assessment to determine if buildings are safe for reoccupancy, must be retrofitted, or torn down. We are also assisting insurance providers and their agents with determination of cause and origin of damage and scope of damage to help accelerate settlement of claims and speed recovery.

To assist with ongoing relief efforts in both countries, Thornton Tomasetti is matching contributions its employees make to charitable organizations that are sending resources to New Zealand and Japan.

Charities that we are working with include the United States-New Zealand Council’s American Friends of Christchurch and, for Japan, AmeriCares.

A larger list of relief charities is here: www.networkforgood.org

About Thornton Tomasetti (www.ThorntonTomasetti.com)
Thornton Tomasetti is a leader in engineering design, investigation and analysis serving clients worldwide on projects of all sizes and complexity. With practices in building structure, building skin, building performance, construction support services and property loss consulting, Thornton Tomasetti addresses the full life cycle of a structure. We have supported clients working in more than 40 countries, with projects that include the tallest buildings and longest spans to the restoration of prized historic properties. Founded in 1956, today Thornton Tomasetti is a 550-person organization of engineers and architects collaborating from offices across the United States and in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

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Great Ink Communications – 212.741.2977
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Thornton Tomasetti – 917.661.7800
James M. Kent, JKent@ThorntonTomasetti.com