संता – भाई, क्या आपदा के कारण होने वाले नुकसान के लिये हमारी जानबूझ कर जोखिम लेने की आदत उत्तरदायी नहीं हैं? बंता – सो तो हैं, पर यह हमें प्रकृति द्वारा दिया गया वरदान भी तो हैं। संता – वरदान? बंता – इसे सकारात्मकता या फिर Positivity Bias कहते हैं, और इसके चलते […]
Earthquake
आपदाओं का होना या ना होना हमारे हाथ
Disasters are caused by the process of slowly accruing vulnerability due to human actions and decisions, and certainly not by nature.
Human psychology and aggravated disaster risk
Despite geographical, religious, cultural and linguistic diversity humans think, act and react in amazingly similar fashion, particularly during distress and life threatening situations. This is attributed to evolution, as behavioural traits providing relative advantage and maximizing chances of survival get engrained in our behavior and psychology. Though evolved through the struggle for survival and aimed […]
संता – बंता और भूकम्प सुरक्षा
संता – भाई आजकल कुछ ज्यादा भूकम्प नहीं आ रहे हैं? बंता – हो सकता है भूकम्प तो उतने ही आ रहे हो पर हमें पता ज्यादा चल रहा हो – संवेदनशील उपकरणों व मीडिया के कारण? संता – क्या मतलब? बंता – बाकी की आपदाओं का तो भाई पता नहीं, पर दुनिया भर के भूकम्प के […]
SAMANVAY 2022 – Day 1
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 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 […]