New Delhi:
After the devastating earthquake in Nepal, the threat of the natural calamity looms large over India. The reason is that a big part of the country comes under the same seismic zone, which also covers that area in Nepal which has been worst affected by quake.
With this, a big devastation could knock our doors as well! But are we prepared enough to tackle earthquake? Around 3 crore people in Delhi and NCR are at risk!
It is being said that an earthquake measuring 9 on richter scale can hit parts of India, including Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, within 10 years from now! Are we prepared to tackle it?
Well, let’s first understand how an earthquake occurs. It is also important for people to know that in what Seismic zone they are living in and why and how they are at a greater risk.
How an earthquake occurs?
According to scientists, an earthquake occurs because of the energy produced due to the collision of layers deep inside the earth. The collision between the plates gives birth to seismic waves, which are main reason for earthquake. Seismometer is used to record an earthquake and thus this study is known as seismography.
Seismic zones
Depending upon the behaviour of the collision of plates at various places, India has been divided into several seismic zones.
Seismologists have divided the country into four seismic zones.
Zone 5
Zone 5 is the most dangerous one and covers North-Eastern states as well as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kutch, Northern Bihar and some parts of Andaman Nicobar.
Zone 4
Zone 4 is also earthquake prone and covers rest of the areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Sikkim, Northern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Delta of West Bengal, some part of Gujarat, Western coast of Mahrashtra, South-West Rajasthan.
Zone 3
Zone 3 is comparatively less dangerous and covers areas like Kerala, Goa, Lakshdweep, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, some parts of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu and Karnataka.
Zone 2
The rest of the parts of the country come in zone 2. These places are not much prone to earthquake.
Is Delhi sitting on a ticking bomb?
If we talk about Delhi and NCR like Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurgaon, these are the areas which have maximum high rise buildings where people live and some occupy offices.
Technologies to make a building or home Earthquake-resistant have been developed. We can seek advice from experts and can make structures that are quake-resistant. In technical language, it is called retro-fitting. Retro-fitting can be done on old structures as well.
Using the technique some changes are made in the structures that help keep out the energy created by an earthquake. But is this technology used in our country?
There are several places in Delhi and NCR that are not safe and are highly prone to earthquake. Especially the areas are close to Yamuna. If earthquake occurs, the national capital can witness major devastation.
According to NDMA, the structures made near Yamuna were made ignoring the earthquake-resistant measures. If timely measures for earthquake-prone areas are not taken, it can turn out to be disastrous.
According to experts, 80% of Delhi buildings won’t be able to withstand if hit by an earthquake.
In Delhi, more focus is on aesthetics and not structural safety. In the metros design is the major worry and not the safety.
Thus there is a need to revise the building bylaws and retrofit old and important buildings.
Seismologists believe that the soft, deep alluvial sediments on the east side of the Yamuna are expected to amplify the seismic waves from a Himalayan earthquake and cause damage in east Delhi.
The plaques depicting the earthquake type category can also not been seen anywhere even after getting directions from Supreme Court.
In Delhi, there are two types of buildings- one which are not engineered, second which are not adequately designed for an earthquake.
Geologist, Javed N Malik, says it is very important to know in what zone are we living. He says people should check whether the structures where they are going to live are quake-resistant or not.
Malik says, the old structures can be retro-fitted as a measure to tackle the nature's fury.
He says that we don't even have proper records of geological processes. In india, some institutions, including IIT Kanpur is working on it. We are trying to ascertain those places that have experienced earthquakes in the past and that are not in records, he added.
