By: Dr. Kumar Raka, Editor-ICN & Rebecca Brindza, Editor, ICN International
A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit Sulawesi Island of Indonesia on Friday and till the time reports from Govt. agencies and the media claims that about 400 people have lost their lives with massive destruction of infrastructure and property. Within next couple of hours the casualties may climb up to thousands as per Disaster Management Agency spokesperson. The city of Pelu home of 350,000 people is heavily devastated with more than 600 people being treated in local hospitals and hundreds still missing.
A moderate intensity earthquake of magnitude 5.5 on Richter scale hit parts of Assam on Sept 12th morning. The tremors were felt as far as Patna in Bihar and Siliguri in West Bengal. The quake lasted for around 15-20 seconds. More than 125 individual seismic incidents of low to moderate intensity on the Richter scale have been recorded by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) alone in India since the beginning of the year 2018. The increasing seismic activity in the Indian subcontinent and worldwide continuously hint that a large scale earthquake may strike in the region. To what degree is India prepared for a large intensity earthquake in an urban environment? Would Delhi, Mumbai or any other metropolitan city be prepared and equipped enough to deal with a Kathmandu (2015) like catastrophe?
Noteworthy, the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January at 08:46 AM IST and lasted for over 2 minutes reached 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum felt intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale claimed between 13,805 and 20,023 lives, injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes (total population of Bhuj as per Population Census of India was 102,637 in 2001). The 2011 Sikkim earthquake of 6.9 magnitudes claimed at least 111 lives, which was a rural and not a densely populated area.
Fortunately, after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, India has yet to experience a major earthquake in any urban area, except Sikkim earthquake 2011 where the rescue efforts of specialized first responders were far from appreciated. In light of the plethora of buildings that are far from following safety codes, a major earthquake in any urban area or mega city is likely to be a devastating event resulting in grave losses in both life and property. Policy makers will be forced to rethink the disaster management mechanism practiced in India over the last 13 years, and better to do so before disaster strikes and not in the wake of its devastating midst. We most certainly do not need wait for a catastrophe to occur to make beneficial changes. Best practices worldwide that provide a holistic, proactive, technology driven and sustainable development strategy towards disaster management are available; all we have to do is start enforcing them. When there’s a will, there’s a way, and the will to save lives should run deep through our societal fabric in both policy and action.
The question is to Policy Makers and the Government are we prepared for something as grave as a devastating catastrophe like Friday’s Indonesian earthquake? With their inability to predict, earthquakes (including tsunamis) are the most deadly form of natural disaster, accounting for 55% of the disaster deaths over the 20 year period between 1994 and 2013, claiming nearly 750,000 lives (CRED, 2018). During the last decade alone, the world has witnessed several major earthquakes claiming a heavy toll in human lives and economic damages, with Pakistan, Indonesia, Haiti, New-Zealand, Japan, Nepal, Iran and Italy just to acknowledge a few.
The ideals of policy makers enshrined in the 2005 DM Act resemble a visionary shift from a relief-centric approach to a proactive approach for disaster management. Embodied this is the Vision statement of National Disaster Management Authority, Govt. of India (NDMA) states: “To build a safer and disaster resilient India by a holistic, pro-active, technology driven and sustainable development strategy that involves all stakeholders and fosters a culture of prevention, preparedness and mitigation”. However, 13 years after enactment of the Act and establishment of NDMA, how far has the Indian Disaster Management system truly progressed? Are they really proactive, and do they consistently apply a holistic and technology driven approach for prevention, preparedness and mitigation of disasters?
Nature is giving us warning constantly, but we pity humans are busy in something else. The urban India and its habitants are lucky enough. But before it’s too late, it’s time to ask within your locality and to your government, are they prepared if a similar earthquake strikes any urban city of India. Delhi a city of 16.8 million people (compare with Bhuj Population) or any other urban city of India with plethora of unsafe, unregulated buildings will have a tough time counting human bodies, leave behind search and rescue. Unfortunately, we do not have any plan in place to handle such a catastrophe neither we are planning any such. Beyond the politics, it’s time to wake up and ask for your safety; first to yourself and thereafter from the Government.
In light of the plethora of buildings that are far from following safety norms, a major earthquake in any urban area or mega city is likely to be a devastating event resulting in grave losses in both life and property. Policy makers will be forced to rethink the disaster management mechanism practiced in India over the last 13 years, and better to do so before disaster strikes and not in the wake of its devastating midst. We most certainly do not need wait for a catastrophe to occur to make beneficial changes. Best practices worldwide that provide a holistic, proactive, technology driven and sustainable development strategy towards disaster management are available; all we have to do is start enforcing them. When there’s a will, there’s a way, and the will to save lives should run deep through our societal fabric in both policy and action. Finally, we are the sole owners of our lives and what is more important for us and our families, we have to decide.
(Copyright Material)
About the authors
Dr. Kumar Raka is former Consultant, NDMA, where he played a key role in raising, equipping and modernizing, training and capacity building of NDRF; former Planning Specialist & Head, Disaster Management, Noida Authority; presently pursuing executive course in Disaster and Emergency Management from Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Ms. Rebecca Brindza is on Executive Board of Israel Young Pugwash (ILYP); presently pursuing Executive course in Disaster and Emergency Management from Tel Aviv University, Israel. Her independent research involves discovering innovative, track-2 approaches for cross-cultural collaboration within the Greater Middle East and Asia in the fields of health, science, disaster & emergency management and innovative technology.
