Data Digitization to Mitigate Legal Disputes during Reconstruction in Earthquake-Prone Areas

Disputes are prevalent on construction projects. This issue is severe in underdeveloped countries like Nepal. In the year 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake killed over 8,000 people and destroyed thousands of buildings there. For reconstruction of the damaged buildings, a detailed damage assessment survey was conducted, in which data was collected using a digitization application; this was the first time this technology was used in Nepal. In this study, the reconstruction engineers were asked regarding their experience of the novel application. The data analysis shows that, along with other benefits, using the digitization application reduced disputes and legal issues in the reconstruction phase. Based on severity of damage, 31 affected districts were categorized into two groups, Group A and Group B. The t-test results showed that the damage in Group A districts was significantly higher than in the Group B districts. Furthermore, this study collected lessons learned related to the damage assessment survey using the digitization application and reconstruction works. (C) 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.