Slow progress in making Indian cities earthquake- ready.
AS HAITI recovers from the shock of an earthquake, efforts to shield Indian cities from the effects of such natural hazards seem to be on a slow track.The exercise to prepare a detailed earthquake zoning map of Delhi -- which began after the Bhuj earthquake in 2001 -- is yet to be completed.
The ' microzonation' map of Delhi that will minutely mark out its seismically vulnerable spots is expected to be ready only by the end of this year.
Microzonation splits a city into small parts, showing how each one would respond to an earthquake. It takes into account soil patterns and the way shock waves travel through each layer -- on ground and underneath the level of a building's foundation.
This helps planners design safer cities.
" For, it is not earthquakes that kill people, but buildings," said T. G. Sitharam, a professor at the civil engineering department of the Indian Institute of Science ( IISc), who had led the zoning effort in Bangalore. A model map developed for Bangalore will be released later this month.
The department of earth sciences this week held a meeting of scientists and technologists to chart out plans for such zonation for all cities in vulnerable zones IV and V. India has four such zones -- II denoting the least vulnerability.
So far, microzonation maps have been prepared only for some locations in Delhi, officials said. The Indian Railways' infrastructure company, RITES, and a private firm, Fugro, are involved and about 40 per cent of the work is complete.
Delhi falls in Zone IV -- denoting a high degree of vulnerability -- on the earthquake map of India. The city has a seismically active area located close to a belt of continental plate movements, soft soil areas and places close to the Yamuna. These areas are more vulnerable compared to the ridge. " An abundance of silt or loose soil over the rock bed makes Delhi more vulnerable," Sitharam said.
The plan is to map all major towns in the hazard zone -- largely falling within the north- east, Himalayan, sub- Himalayan and Bhuj regions.
As the next step, the National Disaster Management Authority and the ministry of urban development will come out with an implementation plan for safe construction.
Building codes issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 2005 already cover norms for construction of buildings in different earthquake prone zones.
" We will look into the structural safety of buildings and auditing lifeline structures like schools and hospitals," Vinod Chandra Menon, a member of the authority, said.
max.martin@ mailtoday.in
MILES TO GO
A ' microzonation' earthquake map of Delhi is yet to be completed
The zoning map was commissioned in 2001, after the Bhuj quake
The Department of Earth Sciences plans a comprehensive zonation map for all cities in earthquake- vulnerable zones IV and V
Delhi falls in zone IV, which denotes a high degree of vulnerability
The Capital's proximity to the Yamuna makes it all the more susceptible
The National Disaster Management Authority and the urban development ministry plan an implementation plan for safe construction of buildings
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| Publication: | Mail Today (New Delhi, India) |
|---|---|
| Date: | Jan 15, 2010 |
| Words: | 525 |
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