Rattled Yet?

editorial:

Only earthquakes measuring higher than 3 on the Richter Scale rattle the surface strong enough to be noticed. Nowadays, with the phenomenal increase in vehicular traffic, and the continuing tendency of constructions to hug the roads, the earth’s tremors marginally higher than 3 get subsumed in the rattle and roll of vehicles sitting on idle in the serpentine traffic jams we now know as Gangtok traffic. It’s been a while since a jolt strong enough has arrived to remind Sikkim that it sits on an earthquake prone zone, it thus becomes necessary that the State observes events still unfolding in Japan to realise that when a bigger one arrives, it will catch Sikkim unawares, the slew of disaster awareness programmes notwithstanding. The Japan temblor, even though in a distant land, has captured the world’s attention with the scale of havoc it has delivered on a country long believed to have been earthquake resilient. It is not enough to catch the latest update on the situation there or participate in a candlelight homage for the thousands of lives lost and the millions rendered homeless; it is necessary for Sikkim to recognise that it is just as vulnerable to earthquakes and then begin adopting devices and lifestyles which will keep its people safer.
Unfortunately, some have reacted with panic, convinced that if a “developed” and “experienced” Japan could not mitigate earth’s fury, the chances of an “unprepared” and “disinterested” Sikkim surviving a big one are remote. As for others, the Japan disaster remains a news headline, failing to invoke any soul-searching or stock-taking. There is nothing new in this response and this is why, when the region, primed for a major tectonic shakedown, actually heaves to the Big One, the damage is going to be substantial. The minor quakes in the region, which sometimes wake people up from their slumber, and the one in Japan should be seen as reminders, wake-up calls to return to evaluating the State’s earthquake preparedness in the right earnest. Substantial noises were made in the wake of the Valentine’s Day earthquake of the year 2006 and the series of tremors that passed through the state for up to a month afterwards, ensured that the topic remained alive at least for some time. But then the monsoons arrived and brought down landslides and a new natural disaster/ hazard obsessed everyone from the lay people to the policy makers. Earthquakes, which could wreak more devastation, continue to remain ignored.
Earthquakes cannot however be ignored; not when one is residing in the Himalaya and straddling two zones – Nepal and Shillong – which have been scientifically certified to have developed enough tectonic strain along the fault lines to release an 8-plus magnitude earthquake. The 2006 Valentine’s Day earthquake measured little over 5 in magnitude, Latur in 1993 was slightly over 6 and when we are visited by an 8-plus [Japan received an 8.9], one is looking at devastation on the scale of the 1934 Bihar/ Nepal earthquake [8.4] which many in Sikkim will recollect as the last big temblor to strike these parts. The 1897 earthquake of 8.7 intensity, with its epicentre in Shillong, caused much devastation in Sikkim, taking down the under construction palace in Gangtok, levelling the Tumlong palace, damaging monasteries and sending down many landslides. No details survive of the casualties or damages suffered elsewhere in Sikkim, but even the little information at hand confirms that man-made structures kill more people in the event of an earthquake than the earthquake itself. To get an idea of how devastating the 1897 earthquake was, tremors are reported to have been felt as far away as in Mumbai and in Kolkata, the bell tower of the St. Paul Cathedral collapsed. The damage in Sikkim must have been extensive. Records reveal that most of the deaths during an earthquake happen within a minute of the earthquake striking. So, if man-made structures kill, shouldn’t these be made more earthquake resistant? Of course they should be. Since 1934, this region has not received a major earthquake and the population has multiplied many times over, there are many more earthquake traps that pass off as houses now and the absence of earthquake-aware planning has ensured that the survivors are not going to have it easy either. Take Gangtok for example, buildings proliferate here and even without an earthquake, at least 3 buildings have collapsed under their own weight and due to poor engineering in the past five years. Earthquake resistant design has neither been deployed nor encouraged [the ceiling limit imposed on constructions has neither sound science, nor even logic supporting it]. The hospital, where the injured should be relocated is connected by a road which will be littered with debris of buildings that crowd it. The communications system cannot weather lightning storms or even strong winds and is bound to collapse when the earth heaves. There aren’t enough open spaces for people to flee to even if they get the time. Picture these and a scary situation gets painted. But planners need to prepare for the worst case scenario and the situations posed above are only superficial. And yet, no one plans for earthquakes anymore...