Meet Dr. H. Kit Miyamoto, Global CEO of Miyamoto International, Inc. Dr. Miyamoto is a world-leading expert in disaster resiliency, response, and reconstruction. He provides expert engineering and policy consultation to the World Bank, USAID, UN agencies, governments, and the private sector. He is California’s Seismic Safety Commissioner, Global CEO of Miyamoto International, and a structural engineer.
How is Miyamoto International contributing to disaster resiliency and recovery across the globe and in India?
With a need for an estimated US $90 trillion invested in infrastructure over the next 15 years, there is an opportunity for leadership and science-based models that will address gaps in data and technical capacity to mainstream resilience into all infrastructure programming. Miyamoto International is a global structural engineering and disaster-risk reduction firm providing resiliency expertise that sustains industries and safeguards communities around the world. From the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake to Ecuador, Nepal, Indonesia, New Zealand, Mexico, and the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes, Miyamoto International has led teams of experts on dozens of response and reconstruction projects around the world. We have also led critical seismic risk reduction programs in Turkey, the Philippines, Romania, and Bangladesh, as well as disaster risk mitigation policy works in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and El Salvador.
India lost $87 billion in 2020 alone due to disasters such as cyclones, floods, and droughts, as per the World Meteorological Organization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the COP 26 Summit also highlighted the need for countries to make adaptation a main part of their development policies and schemes. As part of its efforts to promote resilient infrastructure, Miyamoto International is working with the Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, an international coalition of countries, headquartered in India that aims to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure. It has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide financial, technical, and institutional support during a phase of rapid growth to strengthen the CDRI as a premier global resource for researching, assessing, funding, and managing disaster- and climate-resilient infrastructure investments.
What is your expertise in earthquake-resilient engineering and how can India benefit from it?
Miyamoto is the world leader in high-performance solutions for new construction and innovative techniques of retrofitting existing buildings and preserving historic treasures and assets. The company has designed numerous projects across the globe using all the advanced technologies in the world today. Miyamoto actively contributes to building code formulation by offering its expertise. The company’s global vision of achieving full seismic resilience combined with high-performance engineering expertise enables us to provide the client with the optimal solution for both financial investment and risk reduction.
India is a fast developing nation and the need for quality infrastructure and housing that can withstand the earthquake risks is great here, as the country is growing exponentially. General awareness levels are still very low and the public at large has no idea that structures can be designed to Operational, Immediate Occupancy, Life-safety, and Collapse Prevention standards. Most buildings in India only adhere to the Collapse Prevention level of design but believe they are Earthquake Resistant construction without realizing what that implies and means. India also has a vast number of Heritage Structures 
that need to be preserved for future generations. Both structural and non-structural aspects need urgent design intervention.
Miyamoto India aims at bringing global best practices in seismic safety to India. By having global expertise in seismic safety just a phone call away, Miyamoto India wants to be the undisputed leader in seismic risk reduction, contributing to society by raising awareness levels and designing state-of-the-art structures.
