A massive earthquake measuring 7.5 on richter scale epicentred in the Hindukush mountain range in Afghanistan that jolted north India, including the national Capital, on Monday has once again sparked a debate about what would have happened had the epicenter of the temblor been in Delhi and NCRIJ
The answers would certainly make you nervous.
Three years ago a report prepared by a commission of enquiry headed by Justice lokeshwar Prasad (Retd) had said 80 per cent of the buildings were unsafe in the city. The report, which was submitted to the Government in November 2011, was based on a survey of 10,000 buildings in East Delhi.
Officials said Delhi is located in seismic zone 4, making it highly vulnerable to earthquakes. However, the city is not remotely prepared to deal with massive earthquakes. If a severe earthquake hits the Capital, 80 per cent of its buildings won’t be able to withstand the temblor and at high risks are most of the buildings in unauthorised colonies, said experts.
There are 1735 unauthorised colonies in the national Capital.
Officials said a 2008 paper — ‘Building capacity in Delhi, India to reduce earthquake risk from existing buildings’ by JE Rodgers, lT Tobin and H Kumar — said Delhi Disaster Management Authority, Geo Hazards International, USAID and other partners were trying to build the capacity of PWD to assess and retrofit important buildings.
The buildings selected as part of this project were Delhi Secretariat, Delhi Police Headquarters, ludlow Castle School, a ward block and associated structures at Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital and several buildings at the divisional commissioner’s office complex at 5, Sham Nath Marg. Government sources said work was never completed.
According to the paper, “The soft, deep alluvial sediments on the east side of the Yamuna are expected to amplify the seismic waves from a Himalayan earthquake and cause damage in east Delhi. Delhi has many highly vulnerable buildings constructed of either inadequately reinforced concrete or unreinforced brick masonry. Many of the buildings in the congested neighborhoods of Old Delhi and east Delhi are highly vulnerable, multistory brick buildings with irregular configurations. It will not take a large earthquake to damage these buildings. In addition, many buildings were built illegally, with no quality control.”
The Supreme Court had recently ordered all buildings that are occupied by 100 people or more should have a plaque to say what type of quake category it is. But these plaques are nowhere to be seen. Sources said buildings in Japan, which witnesses numerous quakes each year, are much more resilient.
“This is because strict construction codes are followed there. There are BIS codes for designing and retrofitting but neither is followed. In Delhi all flyovers and now the new hospitals are being made quake-resistant but there is no quality control for private buildings, even those which claim to be quake-resistant,” said a PWD official.