After the devastating earthquake in Haiti which took thousands of lives away, the whole world is concerned about the prevention of earthquake. And Nepal needs to more aware as Kathmandu is ranked top in the list of most vulnerable city for earthquake. So everybody needs to be aware about earthquake. But is this chaos just a thing of talk or is it really a matter of importance . We will discuss it all in detail here.
It has been 76 years after the devastating earthquake destroyed the Kathmandu valley in 1990 BS (1883 AD). nearly two third of the structures were destroyed including the great "DHARAHARA". And now everyone is concerned whether that kind of earthquake will take place in Nepal again.
what does seismology says?
Seismology is the study of the earthquake and it has different techniques to calculate the probability of earthquake in a place. The more greater a earthquake is, less probable it is. The propability of earthquake decreases exponentially.i.e. the probility of occuring an earthquake of 5 rectar scale is 10 times less than the probility of occuring an earthquake of 4 rectar scale.
After the reasearch it is found that in a low seismic country an earthquake of 3.7 - 4.6 occurs every year, an earthquake of 4.7 - 5.5 occurs every 10 years, and an earthquake of 5.6 or larger occurs every 100 years. So Nepal is already in the circle of earth quake as we are already 76 years ahead of last big earthquake.
a quote from wikipedia says,
Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate. Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains.
What will be the losses if the earthquake occurs?
Kathmandu is the most vulnerable city in terms of earthquake disaters. Most of the building are not built correctly for resisting the great shake. So the loss will be beyond what we can think. Besides the losses of human and property, the country will face a great loss as the country is in the phase of political and social change.
The research predicts that the earth quake above 7 rectar scale will completely destroy 70% of the building of the Kathmandu and nearly 300 thousands of lives. This is really a frightening numbers and we must act soon.
How to protect our life
We must learn the protective measures to save our life from earthquake. The first thing is to make our building earthquake resistant. The earthquake resistant building must have minimum of 12 inch pillar and well supported wall. The much detail is easily available from the Earthquake prevention center, Nepal. They provide free counselling and the cost will increase just by 10% of the structural cost. We must not compromise our life for just 10% more money.
Besides making our own building earthquake proof, we must also make our society earthquake proo by advising other people and making them aware. The already built buildings can also be made earthquake resistant by different methods which will need a very little money. So make yourself and your society earthquake proof.
Besides this we must learn the techniques to save ourselves at the time of earthquake. Here are some techniques when you are at different places.
Inside a building - DROP, COVER, and HOLD under a sturdy table or desk, hold on, and protect your eyes by pressing your face against your arm. If there is no table or desk, move to a nearby inside wall, crouch down and protect your eyes and head with your arms as best you can.
Outside – Find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, and power lines. Drop to the ground.
In your car – Slow down and drive to a clear place (as described above). Stay in the car until the shaking stops.
Above all – If you are indoors, do not rush outside. If you are outside, do not rush into a building. You are more likely to be injured by falling items while going outside or hit by items falling off the building you are trying to leave or go back to.
Extensive research into the causes of earthquake injuries and deaths supports the use of the Drop, Cover, and Hold procedure. Most injuries in California earthquakes occur when building occupants attempt to leave buildings or move to a different location in the building. In the recent San Simeon earthquake, two people were crushed by falling debris when they exited the building. Studies of the 1979 El Centro, 1987 Whittier, 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes confirm this pattern of injuries, and that use of the Drop, Cover, and Hold procedure reduces the likelihood of serious injury from a collapsed building and falling objects.
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