The recent earthquake in Manipur measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale that claimed at least eight lives and injured more than 100 is a serious wakeup call for Indias disaster management preparedness. Its true the Northeast falls in the very high risk seismic Zone V. But the statistic that should be worrying policymakers is that 59% of Indias landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity. And while Manipur may have escaped with few casualties in the latest temblor thanks to the states relatively low population density urban centres like Guwahati, Patna, Delhi and Amritsar may not have the same luck should a big one strike.
That, as it turns out, is a distinct possibility in the not so distant future. Seismologists across the world have been expecting a great earthquake along the 400km faultline under the Himalayas last years Nepal earthquake of 7.8 magnitude fell just short of the mark. In fact, in a postNepal disaster assessment, the home ministrys National Institute of Disaster Management has warned of enhanced risk around the ring of fire encompassing almost the whole of north India. This region is seeing a lot of tectonic stress and an increasing number of earthquakes, so experts fear that events of magnitude 8.0 or more may be around the corner.
While earthquakes cant be predicted, their impact can be mitigated through advanced planning and adequate disaster management preparedness. Its welcome that Northeast states are contemplating measures such as adoption of a common building code different from the rest of India. But the biggest challenge lies in implementation. After all most Indian cities suffer from poor urban planning which was also highlighted by the recent Chennai floods. Lax enforcement of building bylaws and neglect of weak structures have become the norm. This must change if we are to guard ourselves from big earthquakes.
The National Disaster Management Authority was set up after the Bhuj earthquake in 2001. However, activation of state nodal agencies and local disaster management units has seen lacklustre progress. Unless all states have a clear blueprint of how to secure key roads and communication infrastructure, swiftly deploy rescue units across districts and quickly provide relief to victims, casualties from big quakes cant be kept down. But most of all, theres a need to fight the mindset that earthquake-related catastrophes happen to others. For Manipur could easily be followed by Srinagar or Delhi.
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