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Your letters: Facing earthquakes
Disasters can only be mitigated by strong construction designs, not by attempting to predict an earthquake
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isasters can only be mitigated by strong construction designs, not by attempting to predict an earthquake. Predictions, worldwide, have rarely proved to be correct. Pakistan has dozens of fault lines mostly in the remote areas of our mountains.
Earthquakes are a geological phenomenon and not a meteorological one. In Pakistan, the meteorological department is responsible for reporting seismic activity. Globally, it is the US Geological Survey that gives information about the correct location, magnitude and depth of the epicenter.
According to the USGS, the magnitude of the quake was 7.5 on the Richter scale and not 8.1, as reported by Pakistan's meteorological department. The Richter scale is an exponential scale.
Thus there is a lot of difference between 7.5 and 8.1. An 8.1 quake would play havoc even with construction based on shock-resistant specifications. The only way to mitigate disasters is by constructing buildings that can stand earthquake intensity of at least 6 to 7 magnitude. A uniform code was formulated in 1994, but is yet to be implemented.
Nusrat K. Siddiqui
DAWN/ANN/Karachi
AS an employee that works on the 15th floor of a high-rise in Islamabad, I was shaken by the earthquake on Monday.
What I found more terrifying was the fact that the building's management took no steps to stop employees from returning to the building before conducting a thorough inspection.
The standard practice after an earthquake should be to inspect all high-rises before allowing the occupants to return.
Some buildings in Islamabad have been sealed on reports they have developed cracks, but the department concerned should inspect all buildings as a standard operating procedure.
Izz Ghanaa Ansari
Dawn/ANN/Islamabad
