Despite disaster management being the primary responsibility of civil administration, it is often overwhelmed by disaster incidences by virtue of their magnitude, impact and geographical coverage. Long drawn rescue and relief operations together with inclement weather conditions and disrupted transport network force the civil administration to resort to the support of various specialised agencies. Having […]
Earthquake
Earthquake early warning – An illusion
After a series of earthquakes in the recent past in western Nepal and Pithoragarh, the earthquake early warning (EEW) system operated by USDMA in Uttarakhand has been the focus of most seismic safety related debates. Obsessed with the glitter and fancy of early warning most disaster risk reduction (DRR) enthusiasts often tend to consider it the ultimate […]
Explosives and earthquake threat
Restricting explosive use in construction works in Himalayas is welcome and this is to help in effectively managing landslides in Himalayas. Explosive use however does not have any impact on earthquake risk.
Frequent earthquakes & lessons for EEW system
In the morning hours of Saturday September 11, 2021 around 0558 hrs IST, the area around Pipalkoti and Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand experienced violent ground shaking. Traumatised by the tremor and suspecting damage, people came out of their houses and remained outdoors for quite some time, apprehending a bigger one to follow. As is expected, […]
1803 Garhwal Earthquake: Implications for western UP and NCR
The seismic tremors Severe ground shaking was felt over northern and eastern India from Punjab to Calcutta in the early hours of September 1, 1803. But for some sketchy written accounts of the damage incurred at certain places and that too with reference to some prominent structures, there exist no means of assessing the destruction […]
Seismic vulnerability of built environment in Uttarakhand
With the Great Himalayan Earthquake drawing close, the present state of built environment could result in near total devastation. To avert this eventuality, we have to seriously review the state of our built environment, and identify key factors contributing to seismic vulnerability and accordingly prepare a robust, time bound and practical strategy to set our […]
Earthquakes warning from Uttarakhand – implications for UP and NCR
The inaugural Inaugurating the only functional regional earthquake early warning (EEW) system of the nation together with Uttarakhand Bhookamp Alert, a mobile application for accessing the earthquake warnings and other earthquake risk reduction related information, at Uttarakhand Secretariat in Dehradun in the forenoon of August 4, 2021, the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reiterated the […]
Earthquake safety tradition in the Himalayas
Experimenting with building design and construction precepts the people living in earthquake prone Himalayan region developed a construction algorithm with five distinct principles that ensured safety of structures during earthquake incidences. Ongoing tectonic movements, ensuing subduction of the Indian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate, and their consequent collision resulted in the evolution of the Himalayan […]
XV Finance Commission: Disaster Risk Index
In accordance with the recommendations of the XIV Finance Commission (FC) to take note of disaster risk faced by the states so as to bring objectivity in resource allocation, the XV Finance Commission (FC) developed the disaster risk index (DRI) through a quantitative exercise wherein scores were assigned to the probability of hazards striking the states […]
Dolakha Earthquake of May 12, 2015
Tuesday May 12, 2015 I distinctly remember having experienced the violent shaking of Dolakha Earthquake. It was Tuesday May 12, 2015, and preparedness of the state governments to face an earthquake were being reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs through video conferencing. A routine exercise often undertaken ritualistically, particularly after major disaster events in […]