The heart rendering images of the victims of the Nepal’s devastating
7.9 magnitude earthquake is appalling. The epicentre of the quake was 80
kilometres from Kathmandu, the most densely populated region of the country. This
region is known to be earthquake prone and the deadly tragedy of this magnitude
was long anticipated by scientists. The intensity of this disaster was believed
to be as powerful as the explosion of 20 thermonuclear weapons. The last
earthquake that struck the Kathmandu valley 81 years ago in 1934 was biggest in
the region with intensity of 8.3 killed 19,000 people in Nepal and Bihar.
Scientific Explanation
for incidence of Earth Quakes:
According to the reports of the Nepal National Society for Earth
Quake Technology, old records dated from 1255 referred to this region as
Indus-Yarlung suture Zone and pronounced that the region would record
earthquake of high magnitude every 75 years. The periodical incidence of
earthquakes is due to the tectonic collisions between the Indian subcontinent
plate and the Eurasian plate which collided 40 to 50 million years ago. The
Indian subcontinent plate is constantly pushing itself towards Asia in the
North at a geographically faster rate of 5 centimetres or 2 inches a year. As
the plates push against each other constantly they generate lot of friction and
stress and the pressure remains accumulated until the crust ruptures leading to
a massive earthquake. Stresses in the earth’s outer layer push the sides of the
fault line releasing energy which travels through the earth’s crust and cause
tremors thereby the ground starts shaking. During this process they dissipate
lot of energy similar to a thermonuclear weapon explosion.
According to an earthquake expert of Chinese University the
plate moved forward 6.5 feet or 2 meters in Saturday’s earthquake causing a
shallow earthquake of approximately 11km deep. Usually shallow quakes tend to
cause more damage and more aftershocks than the deeper ones. Nepal is located
on the southern edge of the thrust fault line where one tectonic plate forces
itself upon the other and hence the region is earth quake prone.
The tectonic collisions in the region have resulted in the
formation of the youngest Himalayan ranges. The fault line lies along the 2500 kilometre
range and the constant collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates pushes
up the height of the ranges by a centimetre every year. While the region
experiences severe earthquakes regularly due to the tectonic collisions, occurrence
of these events couldn’t be predicted with accuracy. But some scientists opine
that if the pressure build up is consistent and homogenous, the region could be
rocked by severe tremors every four or five decades. But due to the complexity
of the forces along the fault lines, the time of occurrences of the disaster
couldn’t be predicted.
Some scientists maintained that plains of Nepal in the quake
affected region suffered less tremors and hence less damage as they were on
solid bed rock. Contrastingly the regions in the North Indian plains near
Indo-Nepalese border experienced greater tremors because of their shallow silt
and sandy surfaces. Past Earth quake tragedies in this region suggest that
quakes of very high magnitude were unusually high leading to severe loss of
lives and property.
Global Earth Quake Safety Initiative report of 2001 had
warned Kathmandu of high potential lethality disaster. It had also enlisted 21
other cities across the World in the list. While Nepal has been trying to
implement new building codes to cope up with the disasters, it being one among
the poorest and least developed countries of the World, money has been biggest
hiccup to implement the envisioned building codes. According to Engineers
without borders UK, nearly 80% of the buildings constructed informally in Nepal
without engineering expertise. Unfortunately in the recent earthquake collapsed
buildings and structures accounted for three quarters of all fatalities. After
the earthquake of 1988, Nepal has formulated recommended building codes in
collaboration with United Nations Development Program by 1994. But poor
adherence and enforcement by the municipalities has resulted in mushrooming of
thousands of houses in the Kathmandu valley which don’t comply with the set codes.
The Darbar Square, the densest region of the capital, several
historical structures and other administrative buildings are reduced to rubbles.
With poor infrastructure in place, even the emergency and rescue teams are now
finding it increasingly difficult to reach the disaster struck region. Rainfall
on the second day of the quake impeded the rescue operations. Of the seventy
districts of Nepal thirty five districts were struck by quake. All the regions that
experienced intense tremors lie in steep mountainous region have high
propensity of landslide occurrence. In 2008 mountainous Sichuan province of
China was jolted by an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 generated nearly 200,000
landslides. Similar kind of situation is expected for Nepal. The disaster so far
claimed 4800 lives and the numbers are expected to swell as more bodies are
extricated from the debris. The toll of severely injured has crossed 10,000
mark. While the scale seismic activity
is not so huge to cause severe damage but the intensity of destruction was
compounded by the dense population and degradation of the environment.
Situation in India and
lessons to be learnt
States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Assam
too suffered damages from this earthquake leading to death of 70 people.
Geologists repeatedly warned and cautioned the countries in the region of
impending Himalayan Seismic Hazard. They predicted that capital cities of
Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Pakistan teeming with millions of people
to be more vulnerable to damage from quakes. Delhi, the densely populated
capital sits on three active fault lines. The tremors of the recent quake were
felt in Delhi 970 kilometres away and it falls in category four of seismic
zone. Moreover the density of the high-rise buildings and the soil conditions
makes it highly quake-prone. North eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir are in
category five seismic zones making them more vulnerable.
India having suffered the worst humanitarian disaster during
the Uttarakhand cloud burst and the recent Kashmir floods should abandon its
cavalier attitude towards earth quake safety and development in Himalayas. The
developmental plans must accommodate environmentally viable projects. 58.6% of
land mass in India is prone to earthquakes of medium to high intensity. Since
earthquakes can’t be predicted or prevented Indian authorities should implement
measures to mitigate the extent of damage. These mitigation measures must be
crafted into new development projects and old buildings should be retrofitted
with materials that can withstand quakes. Municipalities must strictly enforce
building codes which comply with disaster mitigate measures.
Operation Maitri
Responding to the impassioned appeal of Prime Minister Sushil
Koirala of Nepal for humanitarian aid, India swiftly despatched NDRF personnel
to Nepal. The rescue and relief operations in Nepal carried by the Government
of India and the Indian Armed Forces coded as Operation Maitri started its
action barely 15 minutes after the quake with ex-servicemen of Gorkha Regiment
guiding the rescue teams. The instantaneous readiness of the rescue personnel
and the alacrity displayed by Modi in convening various meetings and assigning
specific tasks in the crucial hour of need is commendable. Lately encumbered by
natural disasters India has developed immense capacities to carry out missions
in trying situations. India’s operations dating back to 1980’s in Sri Lanka,
Maldives and Mauritius are a testimony to its credentials as a valued responder.
During the 2004 tsunami Indian ships were the first to reach
Sri Lanka. A couple of months back when fresh water units of Maldives collapsed
India replenished them with adequate supplies of fresh water by air and water
too. India has been consistently demonstrating sophisticated capability to use
its military and civilian resources for humanitarian causes. These swift
actions have been instrumental in boosting India’s foreign policy in the
neighbourhood. Despite the inclement weather conditions, within 24 hours of the
quake Indian personnel brought home 250 nationals from the disaster zone.
Besides deployment of rescue personnel, material and medical teams were flown
to Nepal. Indian armed forces on rescue operations besides earning laurels for
the country are reorienting underutilised military assets for humanitarian
endeavours. The back to back missions-Operation Rahat, aimed at bringing back
the Indian nationals trapped from the war-torn Yemen and the Operation Maitri
vouch for India’s unparalleled commitment towards humanitarian activities.
India is receiving requests from various countries for evacuation of their
national trapped in Nepal. So far, 24 military aircrafts, Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles and hundreds of armed personnel are pressed into action to aid
authorities of the tragedy struck nation. According to UN estimate 46 lakh
people have been affected and property worth $5 billion was destroyed due to
the earth quake.
Over the years Indian forces accumulated rich experience and
enormous capabilities making them front runners in disaster relief and
ambassadors of peace. With its prowess in disaster operations India would rise
into a benign power whose growth will be welcomed in the region.
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