As we say goodbye to 2013, it is a valuable learning experience to explore what we have achieved and what needs to be accomplished to make the Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh regions hazard-resilient societies. The earthquake and flood hazards remain key challenges to address, rooted in the structural setting of our region linked to the tectonic plate interactions between the lithospheric plates of India and Eurasia. The past and current geological investigations suggest that the region is prone to large-magnitude earthquakes that can devastate millions of people, inhibiting the region. Therefore, investing in building a sense of security and safety from earthquake hazards is good.
The decades of crucial scientific wisdom on understanding earthquake hazards and how to live in harmony with them cannot be accomplished and shaped unless there is an awareness in people’s minds and an inner urge and thirst in administration to make a change for good. The built area comprises what humans have created over centuries for survival and comfort and must be hazard-resilient; it includes our buildings, roads, hospitals, schools, etc. The built environment must be appropriately managed to improve its resilience; otherwise, it could become time bombs that explode and cause harm at a time when we wish them to save us, which is our great challenge in the future. Buildings are often made to secure life from heat, cold, danger, predators, etc., but, ironically, not from earthquake hazards, which is something least bothering our societies for unknown reasons. I fail to understand why.
I have been writing articles on earthquake hazards for more than a decade now, as many other scientists and researchers do, and most of it is published by Kashmir Observer, which has taken a leading role in disseminating scientific information vital for the security and safety of our societies from hazards, in particular, earthquakes and floods. Yet, whenever I visit India, I fail to understand why our buildings do not follow the standard earthquake safety building procedures and practices that will save lives during earthquakes. I have been posing this question to myself and discussing it with several scientists, students, and people in Kashmir, which made me conclude that the changes are difficult to make but are not impossible. The mindset is not ready to leap towards a new building practice where some previous social norms may have to be abandoned for good. For example, they include well-trained architects and engineers from some of the best institutes in the world to replace the existing ones, who are locally trained, and most of them are not even formally trained at universities, etc. For example, most of the residential buildings I have witnessed in Anantnag, where I come from, are designed and constructed by local architects and other engineers, who have often not been trained in a formal engineering institution. It is a huge problem, and the current norm ought to be replaced by professional engineering design and construction.
The government must adopt a resolution to carefully monitor the competence of engineering design and construction patterns to allow systematic replacement procedures for the greater good. The recently concluded 6th World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) in Dehradun also recognized the need to change the existing practices for good. The world’s scientific community and people from diverse backgrounds emphasized the need to reevaluate the existing norms in preparation for a better future to effectively combat the risks posed by hazards.
Our regions are prone to various hazards, and earthquakes are the most dangerous because of their unpredictable nature, which gives us sleepless nights. Therefore, it is good for our societies to work on a resolution to make the incoming year a swift leap towards preparedness and making our surroundings an abode of peace. We can do it; it costs what is easily affordable to many and possible for others with the help of government and private agencies. We must start to navigate the route of hazard preparedness and disaster resilience in the built environment for the better of our regions, and to accomplish this enormous task; the government must play a critical role by monitoring, facilitating, and rebuilding the infrastructure in the region.
Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer
- The author is a National Geographic Explorer and Sr. Assistant Professor, Structural Geology
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