Support Residential Structural Assessments in Aleppo, Lattakia, and Hama Governorates. ltpgtltbrgtOn the morning of 6 February 2023, multiple earthquakes - the strongest of 7.8 magnitude - hit Syria. Several governorates in the north, central, and western parts of Syria were heavily affected, namely Aleppo, Hama, Idleb, Lattakia, and Tartous.  The affected areas had already been greatly impacted by years of crisis and were hosting large internally displaced populations.ltbrgtAs of 21 February, more than 4,500 deaths and 8,500 injuries have been reported, and more than 10,000 buildings have been completely or partially destroyed in North-West Syria, rendering at least 11,000 people homeless. ltbrgtWhile displacement in the current circumstances comes with its own set of risks to health, safety and security, there is also a great risk of households returning to structurally compromised buildings which may collapse. It is therefore vital that a rapid, yet in-depth, assessment of structures in the affected areas is completed, allowing households to return to structurally sound homes and clearly marking compromised buildings to ensure that residents and the general public do not enter.ltbrgtAs an immediate response, a rapid damage assessment has been initiated in some cities to identify life-threatening and high-risk buildings and structures with the aim of informing residents and neighbors about the risk. This situation increased people’s fear and forced a large number of them to leave their homes to collective IDPs centers or other safer places.ltbrgtIn this proposal, UNDP and UN-Habitat aim to combine their global expertise, efforts, and lessons learned from various contexts to support the ongoing damage assessment efforts, promote the adoption of international standards and best practices in damage assessment, and raise awareness among households to enhance their decision-making regarding safe return.ltbrgtThis joint project aims at:ltbrgt	Complementing ongoing efforts to assess the structural integrity of buildings in areas affected by the earthquakes by means of technical and logistical support, capacity building, and awareness-raising.ltbrgt	Supporting a second round of assessments, focusing on buildings initially categorized as 'yellow' or structurally damaged, and verifying these findings through more in-depth assessments, with the aim of identifying additional buildings that could be verified as 'green' or safe for displaced families to return to.ltbrgt	Promoting the adoption of a rigorous assessment methodology in order to reach an acceptable level of verification that gives more credibility to the resultsltbrgt	Contributing to mitigating the risks of taking quick decisions based the results of the initial rapid assessments.ltbrgt	Deliver reliable and certified assessment reports to displaced families so they could benefit from them for further support (rehabilitation, reinforcement, compensations, mortgages, etc.)ltbrgtThe project activities were already discussed with authorities, and the initial verbal approval is received for implementation. UNDP and UN-Habitat will start the official approval process once the project is approved.ltbrgtIn order to achieve this, the project will conduct the residential structural assessment in Aleppo, Lattakia and Hama Governorates targeting:ltbrgt	Completing the Rapid damage assessment – Phase 1 in Aleppo city for 21,000 buildings.ltbrgt	Detailed structural assessments for 950 'Yellow' buildings in Hama governorate.ltbrgt	Detailed structural assessments for 1250 'Yellow' buildings in Lattakia governorate.ltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtltbrgtlt/pgt