J&K Govt needs to think on retrofitting seriously now!
Jammu, October 26: Yet another earthquake and death figure was touching 200 when this report was filed and the affected area is as always Afghanistan, Pakistan PoK and the North India in general and Jammu and Kashmir in particular.
Fortunately there was no report of any casualty yet from Jammu and Kashmir except for two deaths due to cardiac arrests and two injuries to army men due to bunker collapse.
As they say earthquakes don’t kill but unsafe buildings do and it is the unsafe buildings that inflict the maximum damage during earthquakes as was evident from various earthquakes with Afghanistan, PoK or Nepal as epicenter in recent years.
Today’s earthquake was measured at 7.5 magnitude greater than what hit Nepal just six months ago killing thousands. The current earthquake though severe in magnitude was 213km (132 miles) deep and centered 254km (158 miles) northeast of Kabul in a remote area of Afghanistan in the Hindu Kush mountain range thus saving people from maximum damage even though exact figures are yet to come.
However what the government of Jammu and Kashmir and government of India needs to think on seriously is to nip the evil in the bud and prevent any future catastrophe due to such earthquakes in Jammu and Kashmir by initiating steps to identify and retrofit the risky buildings in the state which would need lot of survey, time and money and sooner we begin the better it is for the safety of the people.
A similar earthquake anywhere near the state would lead to disaster that can spell doom for the state as the state falls in the highest risk zones of seismic activity.
According to data available, “Zone 5 covers the areas with the highest risks zone that suffers earthquakes of intensity MSK (Medvedev-Sponheuer-Karnik) IX or greater. The IS code assigns zone factor of 0.36 for Zone 5. Structural designers use this factor for earthquake resistant design of structures in Zone 5. The zone factor of 0.36 is indicative of effective (zero period) level earthquake in this zone. It is referred to as the Very High Damage Risk Zone. The region of Kashmir, the western and central Himalayas, North Bihar, the North-East Indian region and the Rann of Kutch fall in this zone. Generally, the areas having trap rock or basaltic rock are prone to earthquakes.
This indicates how serious the threat of earthquakes looms on the state of Jammu and Kashmir and how fast and seriously the government must come out with a plan to retrofit the unsafe buildings and save lives before it is too late.
Retrofitting is the only way to save the people as it is unsafe structures that kill the people during an earthquake and while new structures can be made earthquake proof by affecting necessary architectural designs the structures that have already been constructed can be made safe through retrofitting.
Retrofitting is the process of modifying something after it has been manufactured. For buildings, this means making changes to the systems inside the building or even the structure itself at some point after its initial construction and occupation.
Typically this is done with the expectation of improving amenities for the building’s occupants and/or improving the performance of the building particularly during earthquakes.
With even Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed feeling the pinch today when he was shifted from Tagore Hall Srinagar during a function on Dina Nath Nadim due to earthquake, he must take the call himself and initiate process of retrofitting in the state by seeking the help of central government to do it on war footing.
Since J&K always lags behind in such things it is hoped that the government thinks seriously on this one as it has the potential to leave thousands dead if preventive measures are not taken before hand knowing well that state being in the highest risk zone can face any eventuality at any time.