Experts call for building an earthquake resilient community to mitigate disasters

Pulwama, June 16: In view of frequent tremors felt across Jammu and Kashmir, experts Friday called for building an earthquake resilient community to mitigate natural disasters.
Noted geoscientist from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, Professor G M Bhat said that Chamba -Doda area and Teetwal Muzaffarabad area in Jammu and Kashmir are seismically active where earthquakes of more than 5 magnitude on Richter scale have been recorded in last 150 years.
“The earthquakes will continue to strike these two areas ,” he said, adding that a stretch of 250 kilometers between Doda to Teetwal in Pir Panjal range is not seismically active and this region doesn’t experience frequent earthquakes.
He said that the epicenter of earthquakes experienced in Jammu and Kashmir fall along the border between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
He said that such earthquakes are not so destructive for Jammu and Kashmir as their epicenter falls quite far from the union territory.
“If an earthquake of magnitude 5 or more with focus in Doda or Tangdhar hits Jammu and Kashmir it will cause severe damage to our property,” he said, adding that such earthquakes can cause cracks in houses or they may collapse.
He added that the major concern for them is the Pirpanjal and Zanaskar ranges which don’t experience earthquakes.
“The stress among rocks in these ranges is on rise due to movement of tectonic plates and this stress will release at one time,” he said, adding that it will cause an earthquake of high intensity.
He said that this is a natural phenomenon which can’t be stopped.
“Earthquakes have hit us in the past and they will strike in future too,” he said, suggesting that people of Jammu and Kashmir should prepare themselves for high intensity earthquakes.
He suggested that people in Jammu and Kashmir should build earthquake resistant houses.
“ The old houses can be modified through retrofitting and the new buildings should be made as per IS codes,” he said, adding that in case of making frame structured houses people should consult a trained architect to determine exact ratio of cement and iron so that the houses don’t become death traps for its dwellers.
He advised that one should collect all information about various precautions that one should follow in case of an earthquake and stressed on creating earthquake awareness among children.
He said that people of Jammu and Kashmir should work to build an earthquake resilient society so that damage due to any high intensity earthquake is minimised.